Saturday 7th August 2010.
It’s never good when your goalkeeper is your best player. Having said that, Kasper Schmeichel was nothing short of brilliant today. He made several top-class saves that brought about inevitable comparisons with his father, but also dominated his area in a way that was lacking last season. His kicking was excellent too – often he found himself as an unorthodox playmaker with his long balls.
Simon Grayson went for a 4-3-3 formation this evening. Partly because the more solid structure could give Leeds a cautious start to Championship life, but mainly because of the spate of injuries and suspensions that the team had to deal with.
The back four remain a worry. Richard Naylor ended last season out of form, and his legs had seemingly gone. He showed nothing today to dispel this theory, and his partner Neill Collins was no better. Although both hit Derby’s crossbar, their defending was suspect. Neither could deal with the pace of Derby’s counter-attacks, and their lack of agility will be further exposed by better opposition. The two debutants at full-back, Paul Connolly and Federico Bessone, were steady if unspectacular. Connolly earned an ovation from the crowd with his endless running back and forth, and was equally comfortable attacking and defending. Bessone, though, struggled to defend the left wing, but he was good in possession.
Leeds’ three-man midfield was arguably were we lost the battle. Jonny Howson, Bradley Johnson, and Neil Kilkenny, for all their attributes, are not defensive minded. Derby were allowed to break from the middle far too many times, and the lack of a ball winner is surely worrying for Grayson. Howson, typically inconsistent, gifted Derby possession for their first goal before brilliantly winning the ball and setting up the equaliser. Kilkenny and Johnson struggled to get to grips with the game and were overrun. Adam Clayton came on for his debut but didn’t have long enough to affect the outcome.
Luciano Becchio was his usual tireless self up-front. He battled for every ball and won more than his fair share, and was a real handful for Derby. He scored Leeds’ equaliser, but for all his battling spirit, he lacked a clinical partner who could benefit from his knock-downs. Admittedly the loss of Billy Paynter and Max Gradel hindered Grayson’s selections, but on this performance, Leeds lack a cutting edge with Becchio up-front on his own. Sanchez Watt on the right wing was occasionally a threat. He can certainly beat a man, but needs time to grow into the real deal, and was in and out of the match today. Lloyd Sam, making his debut, had an evening to forget though. On the left wing, he barely got a touch in the first half before recklessly conceding the penalty. He continued to have a limited impact thereafter. He is very quick, but was very poor with the ball at his feet today. His replacement Aidy White injected pace, but he and fellow substitute Mike Grella couldn’t make the difference.
It’s far from a nightmare start for Leeds though, and it is worth remembering that our team was lacking a number of players today. Grayson’s main concern should be sorting out the leaky defence that relied too heavily on the brilliant Schmeichel.
James Dielhenn.
