Chelsea and Leeds Columns

By Mark Deeks
September 22 2002

Leeds and Chelsea Columns
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This last week has been depressing. Completely. Well no, that's actually a lie. It's been almost completely depressing. Fulham won 3-0 at the Mackems. That was funny. The one "disgusting and completely grotesque" (quote Karen Brady) Birmingham fan who confronted Villan goalkeeper Peter Enckelmann after his monumental cock-up: he was funny. In fact, I personally thought he was one of the funniest things I have ever seen on a football pitch.

But apart from that it's been depressing. The Leeds home game was the first home game I've missed in quite some time. As a result, all I saw was the last half hour on Sky. You see, a year ago it seemed like a good idea to sign up to be the Musical Director of a youth theatre show in Halifax this September. A bit of extra cash seemed like a good thing. But when the fixture list came out, it should have been obvious to me that I would miss at least one home game, and the Leeds one it was. You remember I live in staunch Leeds territory....

For the record the show went well, the kids done good, and on getting home from the final show (on the Saturday night after the Chelsea defeat, clutching my payment for my work) I promptly drove in to our Gill's drive wall, thus spending half of my payment....

From what I heard of the Leeds game, it was simply a chance of chances lying untaken. Lots of them. This does not worry me. After all, with the firepower we possess this will surely not persist. What does worry me is that, now including the 3 conceded at Chelsea, that's 5 conceded in a week to potential title contenders.

All in all, all we've essentially done is to replace Distin with Bramble. And to be honest, although Bobby is keen to preserve his protege from a witch hunt, right now I'd rather have Distin. In fact at the start of the season I'd rather have had Distin. (And watching some of Man City's early games on the telly, where did Distin learn to bomb up and down the wing like that?!?...) The defence never needed another player with potential. It needed a born winner, a born leader. A proven winner, a proven leader. Someone who (god forbid) doesn't pass culturally. More "thumps". Someone with a "thou shalt not pass attitude". A Tony Adams or Sami Hypia if you will. What we got was Titus Bramble. The guy can't stand up yet let alone command an already slightly shakey defence.

I don't doubt that with the right coaching, the boy could possibly be great. But he isn't yet. He falls over. A lot. I haven't seen the Chelsea goals. I don't want to. After all, it's Chelsea beating us. Again. But from what I hear, it was very much a case of cock up or deflection, take your pick. Typical.

Anyway, I don't think any of us thought we'd be going into the dark and misty depths of the Ukraine 2nd bottom of the league, but I don't think it'll last. Besides, the great unwashed are in toon on Saturday, so there's at least one more team who are worse than us. Let's hope that we can sniff a result out in Eastern Europe on Wednesday, beat the Mackems and get this season started. After all, Brett Emerton and Feyenoord are coming next week and we have to show him what the fuss was all about! Till then......