Following on from Saturdays' defeat to Rickie Lambert in Bristol on Saturday I wasn't overly confident about Leeds.
A work colleague, (Northern), had been to see them against Walsall at the weekend and was quite frankly worrying me about how good this fella Delph was.
A work colleague, (Northern), had been to see them against Walsall at the weekend and was quite frankly worrying me about how good this fella Delph was.
I know we have our own threats such as Super Lee Sawyer but its always nice to go on about the home grown ones and the thing that is concerning me now is that 5 of the regular starting 11 are loanees. There is obviously Federici and Robson-Kanu from Reading, the boy Sawyer from Chelsea, Harding from Ipswich and Christophe from Pompey. Whilst its brilliant having them here it worries me that when they get recalled and I don't think for the two Reading lads that it is all that long away, (October 22 v Oldham), then we're screwed. Yes Macca is coming back and getting 10 mins here / 15 mins there but will he be ready to replace a lad in Sawyer that I think is destined for big things
On to the game and as ever Leeds filled the away end and Roots Hall was full with over 10,000 there to watch what was a blinding one nil win.
Following yet another goal on Saturday from the credit crunch Nwankwo Kanu, (That's Laurent), he started up alongside an ever improving Revell. And straight from the off he was causing the Leeds defence all sorts of problems with his pace and ability to spin better than Shane Warne. Questions have to be asked why Barnet let him go last year but hey ho their loss. It was Laurent who first tested the Leeds keeper forcing him into a smart save from about 18 yards out with a curling effort.
With 18 minutes on the clock Southend were awarded a free kick which Dan Harding, (a former Leeds man himself), curled brilliantly into the top corner which gave us a deserved lead. Leeds perhaps shell-shocked by falling behind decided to up their game and were knocking it around very nicely indeed, their only problems being there was no way past Sawyer and Christophe and the threat of Beckford being annulled by the man himself who obviously decided it was a bit too cold to be bothered.
Going in at one nil up - the buzz around the ground in my eyes increased, people sensing that for second consecutive season we'd be able to see off the once mighty Champions League side.
They came out in the second half and it continued, further Leeds onslaughts including the introduction of Andy Robinson whose departure from Swansea made way for Gower. As a man though Southend stood firm and an excellent save from Federici from what my seat seemed point blank meant we were still all good for the three points. Laurent went off on 76 minutes and was replaced by Damian Scannell who worryingly I feel resembles Michael Ricketts with dreadlocks.
With less than 10 minutes left Tilly brought on Snoop Dog for Lee Sawyer and he looked a bit shaky. The war horse that is Macca followed him on to firm up the game, replacing a knackered Revell who impresses me a bit more with every game. The referee found 3 minutes injury time from somewhere but it didn't matter as when he finally blew Roots Hall erupted as we'd done it again.
To make matters better - Eastwood Town dumped Wrexham out of the FA Cup and Orient lost as well!
Player Ratings
Federici 8 - Excellent when required but kicking iffy at times
Francis 7 - Still not quite up on last season but always useful going forward
Barrett 8 - Excellent performance kept Beckford quiet
Clarke 8 - Same old same old
Harding 9 - Nice having him back - is he better than Mulgrew? Tonight I'm saying yes
Sawyer 8 - Excellent performance was outstanding against Delph in the centre
Christophe 9 - Without sounding like a Gooner - reminds me of Patrick Viera - superb alongside Sawyer
Robson Kanu 7 - Same as Francis, not as good as last season but still exciting going forward
Revell 9 - Another good performance, winning header after header
Laurent 9.5 - MOTM - Words cant describe how excited I am about this fella - Gooner reference again but a League One Thierry Henry
Betsy 7 - Yet another good performance
Subs: Scannell 5.5 - Errm yeah - had chances - missed them? Down to his 'stature?'
Macca 7 - In the time he was on - did his job
Grant 6 Looked a bit shaky