Neil Warnock, Tactical Genius
22 Feb 2012 01:45 pm, by YorkshireSquare
These aren’t radical thoughts or ideas though, they aren’t mind blowing revolutionary tactics. The reason that fans are so enthused about them is because it’s clear Warnock has identified the same failings we have witnessed week in week out and he intends to do something about them. It’s a refreshing change, in the last weeks of Simon Grayson’s reign we saw a lost looking figure on the touchline, as though he had run out of ideas, as though the fight was gone from him. The same mistakes, the same errors occurred week in week out with little sign they were being addressed by the coaching staff. Post-match interviews were not much better either with a “We’ll have to work harder on the training ground” being the underwhelming response from Grayson in latter days.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a Grayson bashing session, I liked him and thought he did a good job for Leeds United. In the past with combinations of Sam, Howson, Watt or Snodgrass, Howson, Gradel we have looked a dynamic attaching force to be reckoned with. It was clear even to Grayson that things were not working, but as he cast an eye to the bench against Birmingham he saw very little option for changing things. With Gradel and Howson both sold there was little inspiration on the subs bench and you could tell he looked a man who’d run out of ideas, resigned to his fate. Whether it was down to a lack of ideas, pressure from the Chairman or lack of investment in the playing squad he looked to have given up the fight.
Now we enter a new era, an era with a bluff, no-nonsense, straight talking Yorkshireman in charge. Neil ‘Long Ball’ Warnock will have to hit the ground running if we are to stand any chance of promotion this year. But with a simple approach to getting the basics right, cutting out the mistakes out and playing to our strengths it should be possible. Sometimes things can get stale and fresh faces, fresh ideas can make all the difference and that goes as much for Grayson in his new role at Huddersfield as it does for Leeds United.