Continuity or bust – the Calypso blueprint for success

With three games behind us, Leeds fans have been exposed to the customary extreme highs and lows yet again. Disappointment at The Den followed by jubilation against our Yorkshire rivals on Saturday and an almost embarrassing defeat at the hands of Brighton on Tuesday night perfectly epitomises our inability to gain momentum. Consistently inconsistent once again, the need for some kind of prolonged, predictable form yielding good results and points continues to escape us. We at LUFC Calypso feel that only when we achieve this will a season of success await us, at this level and onwards.

After a quite frankly worrying opening day defeat at the hands of Millwall, fans can hardly be blamed for adopting such a negative outlook. However, 3 good signings and a home win against Middlesboro turned a fan base fearing for the worst to a group of speculative dreamers. This proved to be a minor blip as once again getting turned over at home on a Tuesday night was evidently too much to handle. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to establish that consistent results and acknowledging our strongest starting eleven is crucial in mounting a season that doesn’t end in a relegation battle. Dave ‘The Hock’ Hockaday has frequently mentioned the need for competition for places, and I do agree with this, but making changes for the sake of changes seems pointless. The much criticised midfield cohort needs stripping back, ousting anyone not good enough and developing those that are. The likes of Dawson, Mowatt and Cook either need the chance to establish themselves or told that this season has come a year too soon for them. Personally, the form of Murphy and Austin in particular is crying out for their replacement, giving them the reality check they need whilst also giving our young, homegrown talent the chance to prosper. Whether The Hock has the tactical nous, the bottle or the authority to go for such a strategy remains unclear, and I do appreciate that managing Leeds United from my sofa seems a lot simpler that it will be in reality. Even so, it’s time for Hockaday to stamp his authority on this squad whilst he still can.

Consistency off the field seems to be on the horizon, but you can’t help that feel that there might be more than meets the eye. Cellino is a complete enigma, impossible to predict or rely upon, but faith in his regime will remain until the wheels start to come off from our end. Financial stability and an endurable atmosphere must be created, and from the outside we as fans have no idea on either spectrum. High profile bust ups and fall outs have got to be a thing of the past, but I fear that Cellino’s confrontational nature will make that almost impossible. Managers with greater pedigree and respect in the game have come and gone in recent years, seeing their respective owners causing more drama than an evening down Walford high street. Ultimately this has proven too much for managers considered being up to the challenge, and although currently The Hock seems relaxed and unflustered, the cracks may begin to emerge. If this is the case, and the home dugout is graced by 2 or 3 managers every season, Cellino may well be navigating us towards self-destruction.

Our message for Cellino is simple – work out a formula to achieve success and see it through. Change it up too much and we’re asking for trouble. Tinkering and ensuring tactics do not become stale is absolutely necessary, but above all playing our strongest XI and giving a coach you trust time to stamp his authority is paramount. Oh, and no black current squash, purple or the number 17, but that’s a given.

A Calypso Season Preview

It’s that time again. With the national team filling our hearts with the barrage of depression and fury, it’s time to turn our attention back to Leeds United. The summer break has seen the wholesale changes that many fans had called for, with the squad, manager and everything in between seeming to have been completely revamped. As our perennial charge for promotion, or rather the inevitable attempt to avoid relegation, starts once again tomorrow lunchtime, we at @LUFC_Calypso took some time to access the changes at Elland Rd, casting our verdict on the season ahead.

The Manager:

Dubbed as the next Jose Mourinho by absolutely nobody in footballing history, Dave Hockaday’s appointment hardly made the United faithful jump out of their skin with excitement. Allegedly on roughly 10% of Brian McDermott’s 750k salary, it is clear to see strategy that the club president has taken. Thus, when it comes to making some kind of profound statement about the enigma that is ‘The Hock’, it proves to be very difficult indeed. At the end of the day, Hockaday is a man who knows a bit about football, so that helps. He’s not fancy, doesn’t interview particularly well, and has about as much charisma as Phil Neville in co-commentary, but he might just fit the bill for the direction we seem to be heading in. Who knows what direction that might be, but for now, our best bet is to sit tight and see how he fairs. If he fails in our first 5-10 games, I fear he’ll be handed his P45 in what will feel like a blink of an eye. That’s Cellino; that’s football.

The President:

Massimo Cellino has already left an indelible mark on our illustrious club. Rumours of banning black current cordial, the colour purple and the number 17 epitomise the barmy, seemingly uncalculated strategy that the Italian possesses. Although Cellino does seem to be issuing false promises from time to time, I do feel that his intentions are ultimately good. He’s going to make a lot of mistakes, undoubtedly, but he might just make the occasional masterstroke. Financial stability and a ruthless streak are two commodities that haven’t been seen round our parts for an awfully long time, so to see these return to the fore is surely a good sign. Just how crazy the man is remains to be seen, but much like Hockaday’s situation, we can only buckle up and prepare for the bumpy ride. Regardless of the outcomes, there’s no doubt in my mind that this season will be an exciting one, and there’s something to be said for that.

The Squad:

First things first, the removal of the periphery, or ‘deadwood’, players is a hugely encouraging sign. The likes of Peltier, Pugh, Lees, Brown, Drury etc. have all been sent packing, and for the most part I feel this is a positive step. Clearing out the emotionally scarred and habitual underachievers was integral in forming a squad capable of, one day, fighting for promotion, and barring the odd individual we have done that. Ross McCormack was always going to leave, and Cellino has made an absolute masterstroke in pushing for possibly 5x the value GFH would have sold him for, making his decision to sell more than justified.

In terms of incomings, this has been mostly positive. Silvestri looks a very decent keeper, and Stuart Taylor looks like a capable understudy in the absence of Jamie Ashdown. Berardi will be great competition for Byram, and may allow him to make the move to midfield that many of us have expected. Bianchi has shown some promise in the middle of the park, and may add the tempo and class that has been lacking a bit recently. Benedicic comes with the reputation of being a hot prospect for the future, and if he proves to be a goalscoring midfielder he’ll win over the Leeds faithful in no time. Doukara and Ajose have some work to do to overturn preconceptions, but I feel neither are ‘poor signings’. If, and I seriously mean if, we sign Sorensen, I’ll feel a whole lot better about our squad, but we desperately need a striker capable of 15-20 goals at this level and beyond. Who knows what will happen in the market from now, but the current crop of newbies seem more than capable.

The general tone is that we have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen. Nobody does. But I’m not THAT worried about going down, and I’m not hugely optimistic about our promotion chances (if we have any), but the black clouds of the GFH reign of stupidity seem a fair distance away at the moment. Good luck everyone, it’s going to be a mad one.