S-Clarke

I'd take a draw in that game right now if offered tbh, as it stands I cannot see beyond a pretty comprehensive Leeds win. Leicester can absorb 2 defeats given their gap, so they can get back on the trail against QPR the following week. I think Leeds will just want this one too much for Leicester to handle. The two best teams in the league IMO, best this league has probably seen in many years standard wise.

The drop off next season if we fail will be enormous. The following won't be here - THB, Bednarek, KWP, Sulemana, Fraser, Brooks, Adams, S.Armstrong, Rothwell, Downes - and we'll probably get bids which will be hard to turn down for Adam Armstrong (as he will only have a year left). Core of the team next year if we fail will be built around Stephens, Charles, Manning, Mara, Bree, Smallbone, Dibling, SAA - things of nightmares tbh. Of course we'll reinvest and rejuvenate the squad, but there won't be a like for like replacement quality wise. The drop off will be quite steep, but hopefully the league won't be as ridiculous next season standard wise so a playoff push should still be a genuine target.

I'm looking at the next block of 4 - Millwall, Birmingham, Middlesborough and Sunderland - 12 points required from that to keep us within touch, anything less and Leeds will be pulling far away into the horizon and not to be seen again. 100+ points plus for the top 2 this year IMO, which is mental. I think we'll get high 80's, low 90's at best. Not to discredit as in most seasons that is an auto promotion tally and a great season, i.e our last two promotion efforts, but the level required this year is ridiculous and I don't see how we do it with our run and Leeds run. That's how it feels to me right now. The level requires us to be faultless, and we haven't been.

You're talking as if these guys are pampered PL players and have never played at this level. Armstrong, Adams, Downes, THB, Manning, Fraser, Brooks, Stephens, Smallbone, Rothwell have all played regular Championship football in their careers, some as recent as just last season. I don't buy that the players are only used to a PL schedule, that's nonsense.

Like other's have said, the critical element of this tactic when it's countered is the out ball. That's either down the flanks with arcuate passes to the wide players, or over the top to a striker who can hold it and bring others in. If you do that, there's space and things open up. But we were aiming balls at Sam Edozie and Armstrong's head, which was totally the wrong thing - and they were both very, very static in their movement. Mara was the definition of useless in terms of an outlet, so we were pretty much playing with 10 men for that first half and we had no way to get out. The team was full of all the wrong players to be able to execute the counter to the high press.

To sum him up, there was a moment in the second half where Manning was struggling to defend on the left. He got some help and we got a throw in from it. Who helped him? KWP, the RB, who'd run across the field to bail out his left back. You can't be any more inept than that, KWP could have played both positions last night and still been better.

We would have to change on promotion, but I don't think we'd will - so yes, I follow your same fear! Imagine doing what we did last night in the first half at Man City, or Spurs - 9-0 drumming's could becoming multiple season occurrences.

He's honestly so bad, not seen as bad a LB as him for us for many, many years. I'd prefer Rudi Skacel back there. Nice lad, seems to put in a shift, but so out of his depth at the top level of this league it's frightening. No idea how he ever won POS in previous years, absolutely no idea. He's not good.

There was a funny shout around me in the first half - ''Just hit it long!!!'', so they did what he asked and hit it long on a few occasions. The response to one of them? ''Absolute shit, why are we hoofing it aimlessly?'' - it was the same person, honestly. There were a few ''get it in the mixer' shouts as well, not sure what that would have given us seeing that we only had Edozie and Mara in the 'mixer' at that point.

What are you on about now?

I don't remember him saying he didn't want to play for us? I don't think you can question Smallbones lack of ability on the ball, technically he's good - but he's weak as piss, that's the problem. He will get walked over by anyone if he doesn't have protection around him. If he has someone sitting a bit deeper and he has the space and time, he'll look good technically. He's just a bit meek.

We'd have to play them in the final anyway tbh, doesn't really matter in my eyes. Coventry are a good side as well, will cause us problems when we play them.

Not sure if Bree is going to be fit to start, so I'd either have Stephens or Charles at FB. Manning seems a good lad, puts in a shift, but technically he is just horrific. No where near the required level, he's just championship fodder. Downes straight back in for me, he's not been out long enough to need to be eased back. If he's available, he starts. Aribo is a good shout for the '8', added real energy in the second half. Didn't think I'd be saying that a year ago. Agree with the attack, although toss up between Stu and Edozie for me (moving Brooks into the 10). I thought Stu was so, so, so bad tonight.

It's probably a bit of a stretch, but we have gone to the shit since he's been back on the scene.

I'm not really sure what Sulemana is all about if I'm honest. On reputation alone, price tag, wage etc he should be destroying this league. Yet he's never really done anything. Yeah, he's been injured a little bit (another negative with him), but when he does play he doesn't do anything other than run into blind allies. I'd take the cash in the summer and move him on, accept the loss and another shit bit of scouting. (That January window is now on bar with the Carillo one - 4 players signed, two out on loan, one given away for free in the summer and the one left behind has been pants.)

This isn't a place for rational thought, you should know that!

I thought Mara had started to improve in recent weeks, but by christ tonight he was as bad as I've ever seen a CF play for us. And I remember watching Jordan Robertson!

We were forced to actually try a 'Plan B' a few times in the first half particularly, just to get out of our half. A few long balls from Bazunu and our CB's, sadly we only had Mara up there who'd struggle to trap a bag of cement tonight.

I didn't think we were very good in the second half, we improved - it would have been hard not to, but it still wasn't very good. Left it too late to have any real go at them.

I don't think it's anything particularly new, I mentioned it int he match thread. Teams with pace on the break can do us quite easily, as long as they press right and get the transitions spot on. Huddersfield did it against us, so did Bristol City. Back at the start of the season Sunderland and Leicester did us like that as well. We play an expansive game, so we do push up high. Against dross like Swansea, Blackburn, Rotherham etc you can get away with it to a point as they don't have the pace or guile to counter it. When you play that same way against teams who can field players like Mvadidi, Fatawu, Clarke, Philogene, Carvalho etc then we will always concede goals sadly.

I think Hull borrowed the video from their Yorkshire mates in Huddersfield, they did exactly the same. Difference is that Hull are better quality so didn't afford us the gaps that Huddersfield did, but the approach was pretty much identical. Close the passing lanes, press hard and transition at pace. There are goals for teams against us if they do that, guaranteed.

If it's the playoffs, I hope that we know that a good few weeks before the season ends. Ending up in the playoffs after a gut wrenching defeat at Elland Rd on the last day isn't my desired outcome. We'd never recover from that.

Yeah the team wasn't right. We played that weak as piss midfield in Bristol and it ended just as I'd have expected it to, to try it again against better opposition is nuts. Our recruitment has been ok this season, but we have left a glaring gap in that number 6 role. We simply have no one to do Downes role and that is going to bite us in the arse imo. Had a feeling since the start of the season about our lack of a proper DM cover.

Too many bad nights at the moment. Our run up to Bristol City was so good, cannot take that away from us - but even slightly before that the chinks started to show. Giving head starts to poor sides Huddersfield is bad enough, but to do it against slightly better opposition in the forthcoming games is quite simply a bit of a disaster. I think it's quite clear what our kryptonite is - high pressing teams who close the gaps, and transition at speed with pace down the flanks. Leicester had that, did us 4-1. Sunderland had that, did us 5-0. Hull had that, they've done us. Huddersfield had that, they had a good go as well (but they were of a lesser quality so still allowed us chances). It's a little concerning it has to be said. That first half was simply not good enough, too slow, too passive, weak as fucking piss in the middle (as expected), and it was a doddle for Hull really. I'd have had no complaints if we'd walked in 4 or 5-0 down, it was that bad. 2nd half was marginally better, but you're not going to recover from a start like that against decent sides. It was game over as soon as the 2nd went in. Lots of huff and puff in the second half, I thought Aribo did well when he came on and Adams did give us a focal point (less said about Mara the better). We really cannot afford this to transition into a horrible inconsistent run, we've already had our bad run this season in September - we cannot afford another one, simple as that - the standard is too high this year.

Yep, I think we must have - and so did everyone else by the sounds of it.