Leeds for automatic promotion (2006 thread)

Will Leeds Utd make the top 2?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, but play off place

    Votes: 2 100.0%

  • Total voters
    2

lawrensons

CoffE Moderator
Staff member
this evenings results has led me to post this question:

with a game in hand and only 9 points behind Sheff Utd who are in 2nd what chance do Leeds have of making the top 2?
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Slim. Definites for the play-offs though. Blackwell has done a really good job there IMHO.
 

lawrensons

CoffE Moderator
Staff member
I think he has been helped by the change in chairman - Ken Bates is a real football legend
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
How much debt did he leave Chelsea with again? Wouldn't trust him if I were you, he's a businessman first, a football man second. Nobody's fool though.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Can't say it is looking good for anyone other than Reading and Sheffield Utd now, especially after last weekend's results.
 

lawrensons

CoffE Moderator
Staff member
you're right - unless something drastic happens over the next two games Leeds will be sitting either 3rd of 4th in the play offs

I hate the play offs - I think that they can be so unfair. Why should 3rd place have to play 6th place when they might be 10 points apart? I think the FA need to change it so that the top 3 go up automatically
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Well it is all about money these days so it isn't going to change in a hurry. I think it becomes a complete lottery, the season comes down to three games. A lot of Palace fans are happy to cement a play-off place, can't say I'm as certain about it myself.

In saying that winning in Cardiff two years ago was a fabulous day, and I'd be a liar if I didn't say I enjoyed the day.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
That's the door just left ajar for Watford and Leeds again.

BTW it is still February and Reading need just 14 points to secure promotion. :eek:
 

lawrensons

CoffE Moderator
Staff member
results are going in favour of that automatic spot at the moment. the 2-0 win at Palace (sorry toneboy), with the disaster that was Crews vs Sheffield Utd has given us 6 points to catch with a game in hand. It's possible!:p
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Ahem, only 2-1. ;)

I was listening on the radio. Leeds sounded very impressive, especially in midfield. Heard lots of Derry winning the ball and Miller going forward creating chances.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
BTW Sheffield United sounded appalling today. Unfortunate for Leeds that they couldn't fully capitalise.

However I would say the race is definitely on.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Very interesting comments on Sheffield United in Saturday's Palace programme. Added in with Warnock's behaviour over the weekend and it definitely seems like the wheels are coming off at Bramall Lane. I'll try and dig the programme out and post the comments up here later.
 

lawrensons

CoffE Moderator
Staff member
i've never wanted Southampton to win a game of football in my life - but they play Watford tonight and could really do us a favour. COME ON SAINTS!
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Never, ever rely on Southampton for anything.

Probably three points for Leeds tonight if we were as poor as we were on Saturday.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Typical Palace, comedy defending on Saturday, clean sheet at Elland Road three days later.

And another goal from this superb player:
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
Second still up for grabs by the way the way Sheffield United are playing. I'll try and dig that article out later.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
As promised:
Some may believe that Neil Warnock struggles to maintain a veneer of tranquility at the best of times but if the Sheffield United manager has been looking more fraught than usual recently, he has good reason.

United are currently experiencing 'Wolvesitis' a nasty, and rare complaint which causes inexplicable loss of form, confidence and nerve in players who had previously been treating Championship football as an activity only marginally more taxing than taking a nice hot bath with just a few scented candles for company.

The Blades have lost their edge, and in a big way. Warnock's side were 14 points clear of the chasing pack and hot on the heels of Reading nine days before Christmas; three months later, the Royals are a mere blue-and-white speck on the horizon while Leeds, incredibly, are within striking distance of their Yorkshire rivals. The gap stands at five points this morning but with United facing a taxing trip to Norwich, that could yet be trimmed, and Leeds still have a game in hand.

United's collapse has been as sudden as it was unexpected. Before the new year, Warnock appeared to have struck upon the perfect promotion concoction after five seasons of trying: there was experience in the form of David Unsworth and Craig Short; the youthful zest of Nick Montgomery and Danny Webber; and the undeniable class of Phil Jagielka and Michael Tonge.

Few betted against such a potent blend proving its worth over the course of the season but the wobble has been spectacular. One victory in seven matches is a poor return under any circumstances but what will most concern Warnock is that his stuttering side has come unstuck against Crewe, Queens Park Rangers and Plymouth in the last month, all of whom are firmly rooted in the bottom half of the table. It is one thing to leak points to promotion rivals, but quite another to do so against those at the wrong end of the table.

United's nerves are fraying, and not just on the field. Last week, the club felt compelled to issue a statement categorically denying that there was a dressing-room rift after rumours initially spread on website message boards and radio phone-ins began to gather pace. The gossip centred on Warnock's relationship with Unsworth, who has not started a first-team game since 6th February when he was sent off against Watford and was left out of the squad entirely for the trip to Coventry last weekend.

"Efforts to destablise United's promotion push through rumour mongering will prove irriting but futile," read a statement posted on the club's website. "Neil Warnock and the players are aware of certain stories circulating that suggest a lack of harmony within the camp, but are united in their condemnation of the mischief-makers.

"The antics may succeed in filling message boards, phone-ins and column inches with the result that genuine supporters may become concerned that squad harmony and purpose is being diverted. However, nothing is further from the truth. Our efforts are totally focussed on ending the bad run and finishing the job they started so strongly."

The chitchat may well be groundless but if United's form continues to slide, it will escalate. Negative press hovers over losing sides like smog and Warnock will have to work hard at rebuilding his beloved siege mentality if his side's self-belief is not to deflate entirely.
Of course the day that was published Sheffield United did lose at Norwich, culminating in Warnock's obscene gesture to the Norwich bench at full-time.
 

Toneboy

Administrator
Staff member
You're looking forward to the play-offs? You can tell you've not been in them recently. Completely nerve destroying, not very pretty football wise either. These games define "the result is everything" mentality.
 
Top