Spotlight on tactics: can the 3-5-2 formation work for LUFC?

So far this season, the management team at Leeds United have attempted to use an array of formations, each one presenting more tactical shortcomings than solutions. McDermott’s faith in the diamond midfield has thus far yielded almost nothing, and many twitter whites have voiced their concern that the formation is a large contributor to our lack of attacking flair and a leaky defence. Finally, it seemed we had made a breakthrough. Playing within a 3-5-2 system, our floundering squad hit their stride, annihilating an abysmal Birmingham City. With this in mind, we at @LUFC­_ Calypso have tried to assess whether the formation is a viable long-term recipe for success, or whether it is yet another short term solution to a deep-rooted problem.

On many levels, 3-5-2 makes perfect sense. Operating with 2 wing backs allows those selected (we assume Byram and Warnock) to add the necessary width that, until now, has been totally absent whilst simultaneously installing a defensive solidity (if we can call it that) that is able to deal with the counter-attacking play of our opposition. In addition, wing backs provide the extra impetus going forward and theoretically this system has the potential to provide enough attacking support to our strikers to solve our struggle to score goals.  On the subject of attacking influence, playing 2 up front could also alleviate the isolation of our strikers up top (particularly away from home). In other systems, whoever has played up front has spent the large majority of the game chasing down inaccurate ‘hoofs’ from the back. With this system in place, it encourages far more cohesion between the midfield and the forwards, something that we definitely need to continue to score more goals and win more games.

A critical advantage of this system is that it allows us to play our best XI, with each player in the position that best suits them. Too many times this season we have tried to manipulate Ross McCormack, a player who has plied his trade as a 9 or a 10 for many seasons, into a central-attacking-midfielder and clearly this hasn’t worked. It is undeniable that Ross belongs up front, working as part of an attacking partnership – he does not have the height to hold up the ball as a lone striker, but there is no doubt that he has an eye for goal that merits his inclusion in the front line. In a search for width, McDermott has taken to utilizing our plentiful supply of central midfielders out on the wings. Whether it be Austin or Green, Murphy or Mowatt, we cannot continue to field a team where at least 2 players are playing in positions in which they can at best survive and at worst become completely embarrassed. 3-5-2 uses 3 central midfielders, a system that eases McDermott’s tactical headache; he would simply need to select his best 3.

For the most part, the system seems to work. Although we must attribute a percentage of our success against Birmingham to their lack of communication at the back, the system gave us the width we needed to maximize the potency of Matt Smith in front of goal. For the first time this season, we looked consistently dangerous in front of goal and solid without the ball. Scoring more than 2 for the first time this season in the league, both Ross and Matt Smith could have taken the match ball home had they converted some of our squandered chances. However, the system clearly has frailties. Saturday’s performance against Huddersfield was largely disappointing, mostly down to the inefficiencies of the system. We found ourselves chasing back in last ditch attempts to hoard off the Town counter-attacks all too often, raising serious questions. This system is clearly dependent on high quality performances from the wing-backs, and whether Warnock has the ability to consistently deliver disciplined performances remains an unanswered question.

With the current squad that McDermott has available to him, we believe that this system has the potential to cause the most damage going forward and, as we all know, goals win games. For the sake of the players and the fans, we believe that this system must be implemented on a regular basis and continuity is the key when it comes to formation.  Going forward, the responsibility lies with Brian to pick our best XI and the players must regularly find the form that saw a rejuvenated Leeds run riot at Elland Road last time out. If the side can do this, fans can continue to harbor muted hopes of play-off action later this season. 

Why on earth did we buy HIM? The worst LUFC transfers

In these frustrating days of boardroom mystery, there is only one thing in which all Leeds fans can be certain: we have no money. The rumour mill churns out a million new ‘imminent loan signings’ a month, only for McDermott and the owners to release a statement saying that they need to secure investment to bring some fresh blood into the team. This infuriating merry-go-round of disappointment got us thinking; what if we had all that money that we’ve wasted in the past? Such is the ironic hilarity of how bad some of our expensive signings have turned out to be, the accumulative money we would have saved would surely have us playing Champions League football by now. The @LUFC_Calypso brothers took to twitter to find out who you think was the worst. There are obvious candidates and intriguing surprises. Here are your answers:

Tomas Brolin

Sweden’s answer to Johnny Vegas was undoubtedly the name that cropped up the most. After showing bags of potential for Swedish clubs Navikens IK and GIF Sundsvall, Brolin endured an inconsistent and injury-ridden spell in Italy with AC Parma. Aware of the fact that he would no longer be guaranteed first-team football with the Italian outfit, Brolin hopped on a plane for Leeds. Howard Wilkinson, who was mentioned in a previous article as an underrated LUFC manager, was the unfortunate ‘visionary’ who was able to look past the injuries, the weight issues and the inability to find the net to see the saviour to Leeds’ goal-scoring woes. He was wrong. Brolin played just 20 league games for United, scoring just 4 goals (@LUFCDATA kindly points out he cost £1.13 million per goal), and was promptly shipped out on loan to FC Zurich. Wilkinson had accused the striker of not ‘pulling his weight’ (pun intended), and LUFC fans became united in the belief that he was the worst player we have ever had.

Seth Johnson

With an average of just over 10 games per season with LUFC, Johnson is inevitably your second most popular candidate for biggest Leeds United buffoon. The highly publicized transfer fee of £7million, coupled with a reported £37,000-a-week contract, meant that Johnson had to prove his worth instantly and would have his work cut out to win over the fans. Like so many of our flops, he was hindered by constant injury problems and the ‘form’ that earned him an England call up during his time at Derby never materialized. History confirms what we all already knew: 1) the national team was in disarray if it resorted to Johnson as a solution to their problems, and 2) the financial dealings conducted by Peter Ridsdale are solely responsible for our current predicament. Ironically, as Johnson came back from injury with a point to prove to the fans, we couldn’t afford his wages and he was released at the end of the season.

Kevin Nicholls

A slightly less obvious choice we admit (and we must thank @LUFC97Lloyd for bringing him to our attention), but Nicholls needs to be included as we believe he is a signing that does not generate as much hatred as he deserves. Signed for £700,000 by Dennis Wise during a period when this level of money represented a significant investment in the playing squad, once again he was hampered by fitness concerns and could not play for months. Following his recovery, Nicholls was installed as captain of Leeds United, a position held by some of the most revered names in the club’s history. What followed his appointment would spell the death knell for his brief LUFC career. Nicholls was red carded in his first game as captain, missing critical Christmas period fixtures as a result, and was then dropped for his lack of commitment. He subsequently asked for a move to Luton, a decision that demonstrates a lack of ambition comparable to that of a certain Mr Bates, and he was never seen again.

As fans, we must take sadistic pleasure in the fact that a list of Leeds United flops is the longest and the most lacking in quality throughout the entire footballing community. The vast array of hopeless footballers that were tweeted to us in the last week makes very amusing viewing and we have included them for you at the end of this article. Thank you all for your suggestions, we’d advise all readers to check out the twitter pages of everyone listed below!

Brolin - @LUFCDATA, @DaveK61, @christ4d, @duncanpub, @crossgatescal, @FranTollerson, @SpanishPirate1, @Vikingbaznett, @Jamielufcsmith, @milkybar39, @philbthebear, @RedThunderChris, @weareleeds_, @LUFC_Members

Rachubka - @Nr32OnTheBack, @BakkeTheNet, @lufc_bishop, @JoeJames1996

Johnson - @LUFCDATA, @LufcColin, @philbthebear, @tommoovthornaby

Selected others:

Pierre Laurent - @LUFCDATA

Nicky Barmby - @duncanpub

Ken Demange - @peterfully

Neil Collins - @LeedsUnitedLiam

Carlton Palmer - @LeedsEditor

Luca Bessone - @TalkLeedsUnited, @warnermarkjames

Cyril Chapuis/Frank Strandli - @lufcstats

David Harle - @slflufcjimmy

Paul Okon  - @wakeyfin

Roque Junior - @tommoovthornaby, @royllew93

Somma and Becchio: can former favourites end our goal drought?

It doesn’t take a die-hard fan to point out that scoring goals is the main problem that faces an under-performing Leeds squad. The Whites have scored just 10 league goals so far this season and the United faithful have taken to social media to voice their concern about the lack of an out-and-out goal scorer. As a result, twitter buzz has been building apace about two former United front men who could guide us out of our rut. Rumours are circulating that former striker Davide Somma is back training with the squad after his release over the summer, and he is one of the primary names on the lips of the fans as countless hours are spent trying to find a solution to our poor finishing.  There are other options, and with Luciano Becchio looking for a move away from Carrow Rd after falling down the pecking order, many see the Argentine as the answer to our problems.  We at LUFC_Calypso decided to take the time to compare these two former fan favourites against each other as well as against the current crop of under-performing strikers.

If we put to one side an ongoing battle against long term injuries, Somma was fairly prolific during his time at Elland Rd. The South African made 39 appearances for the club, scoring 13 goals and quickly became a favourite amongst the fans. After a bright start, he spent much of his time on the physio table and, following repeated setbacks in his recovery, he was often used as a substitute, scoring 7 of his goals off the bench. Many feel however that he was underused by Grayson - at the time, Leeds tactics provided a polar opposite to the beautiful game, attempting to counteract our sieve-like defence by bombarding the opposition’s goal. Grayson did not trust that he was capable of holding up the ball as our attacking linchpin  and as a consequence his chances were partly reduced. Scoring 2 braces, and a goals-per-game ratio of 0.33, Somma was certainly comfortable in front of goal. Having said this, statistics don’t tell the whole story in this case. Again due to injury, Somma is relatively untested at Championship level and throwing him into the mix this season may prove a challenge too far against a crop of clubs whose starting XIs feature a plentiful supply of ex-Premier League goalscorers. Furthermore, Somma has once again spent much of the last two seasons injured and consequently will most likely struggle with the pace of the matches and the challenging fixture list. Unfortunately for him, it may be unrealistic to suggest that he will ever be the player he once was, and his chronic knee injuries will undoubtedly continue to haunt him. Leeds fans must be realistic however – only two players have found the net on more than one occasion in the league this season (McCormack 4, Varney 2) and so, at this stage, no-one could argue against McDermott taking a gamble on him.

Luciano Becchio is the other former United striker that both the manager and the fans have expressed an interesting in bringing back to the club. It is safe to say that Becchio’s time at Norwich has stunted his career progression, yet to make an appearance in the league this season. The arrivals of Van Wolfswinkel, Elmander and Hooper have reduced his chances further and, with Norwich back on their feet after a shaky start, Becchio’s chances of breaking into the line-up look slim.  Chris Hughton may not rate Becchio as a Premier League striker, but his stats during an illustrious spell at a lower level with United are impressive. Scoring 86 goals in 221 appearances, Becchio had been the focal point of the attack since his arrival in 2008, but it was the 2012-13 season that caught the attention of a number of high profile clubs. Becchio scored 19 goals in the first half of the season, a contribution that kept us within touching distance of a promotion push. He scored 8 braces with a goals-to-game ratio of 0.39, so it is clear that Becchio’s stats make him a viable option for any Championship club in need of a reliable front man. Despite his tumultuous relationship with Hughton, the Norwich boss is unwilling to let him leave and so nostalgic fans may have to wait a little longer for the return of a player some regard as a Leeds United hero.

At this stage of the season, both Somma and Becchio seem credible solutions to our miserable form in front of goal. However, in our opinion, fresh blood is the answer. Cruel though it may seem, Somma’s best goal-scoring form is behind him and resting our promotion hopes on an injury-prone and untested striker is foolish and signals a clear lack of ambition. Unlike Somma, Becchio could be a suitable option should we find a way to convince Hughton to release him – there is little doubt that his return would be welcomed by large percentage of the Leeds fans. Furthermore, we feel that the introduction of a new (or in the case of Becchio and Somma, old) striker is not the miracle fix solution. The service continues to be lacklustre, and so the acquisition of at least one winger should remain equally high on the list of McDermott’s priorities. In any case, change must come, and soon or our promotion push may become permanently derailed. 

9 months on: has progress been made by GFH?

Utter the name Ken Bates to Leeds United fans and most will shudder, hurl a long series of expletives in your direction but finish with a great sigh of relief that he no longer has any connection to the club. The Bates era was undoubtedly the least successful on the field and the most infuriating from the stands – the fans were filled with anger, the team was filled with no-hopers on long contracts and morale was at an all-time low. After months of protracted talks, GFH Capital finally took over. 9 months on however, and once again the team is sitting mid-table and frustration is starting to gain pace among the fans. We decided to analyse the ways in which GFH have managed, and failed, to improve the club from top to bottom, from wins on the field to happiness in the stands.

Ticket Prices

At the start of this season, GFH made the long overdue decision to reduce ticket prices. 10 years of Championship (and League One) football at Premier League prices was, for some, Bates’ biggest crime against the fans. He creamed money off the top from a fan base that he knew would, for the most part, stay loyal through thick and thin. Attendances did drop drastically however, and Elland Road lost its intimidating atmosphere, a worrying trend made clear by former Leeds player Neil Kilkenny who said that Elland Road was no longer an intimidating place to travel. Ticket prices are lower and we are all grateful for that, but have they really gone down enough? We took a look at season ticket prices and our findings were disappointing. United’s cheapest season ticket would place them 12^th in a Premier League table of ticket prices. It is clear GFH need to improve this more as Leeds fans are paying to watch what should be mid-table comfort in the Premier League when, in reality, it is mid-table frustration in the Championship.

Investment in the playing squad

There is one thing that ALL Leeds fans agree on – the standard of players brought in on frees by Bates was laughable. Millions of pounds worth of talent packed their bags and moved south to the Premier League Promised Land, but this money curiously disappeared. Bates brushed off this infuriating lack of investment as a ‘restructuring’ for the future but fans demanded more – they demanded players worthy of the badge. Since GFH have come in, they have in fact given some money to McDermott to spend. We were all proud to read that a seven figure some had been paid for Murphy, someone with his best years of football ahead of him. We are still lacking in key areas however, and for all Salah Nooruddin’s tweeting about potential new signings there just has not been enough unveilings at Thorp Arch. Indeed, we have continued to sign the majority on free transfers (Noel Hunt etc), players who have thus far contributed as much as they cost – nothing.

Restoring pride in the club

At the lowest times in recent years, we were extremely alarmed to see a lack of pride in the team and diminishing connection between the players and the fans. One thing that has always separated the club from others is the mad, unwavering love and support the club received from its following. This more than disappeared under Bates, and fans were actively expressing their disdain for the state the club was in on social media, with protests and by staying at home on match days. GFH have introduced some very clever schemes to correct this issue including ‘Paint It White’ marketing campaigns, increased interaction between players and fans (at the Superstore etc) and, critically for some fans, reintroducing some very important Leeds United traditions such as the Elland Road wave at the start of home games. One can argue that this has as much to do with Brian McDermott as it does the owners, but a huge amount of credit has to be given to GFH for rebuilding faith in the club and reigniting a sense of unity among the fans.

Ultimately, the success of GFH will depend on their ability to get the club back to the Premier League. You will struggle to find a Leeds United fan who is content with the team’s current mid-table obscurity, but we remain confident that GFH will continue to improve the club, from behind the scenes infrastructure to on-field success. As always we’d love to hear your own thoughts and comments on GFH’s first nine months, tweet us at @LUFC_Calypso!