The Times, Sunday Times and Telegraph now seem to require registration to view articles on their sites, with the Times and Sunday Times charging readers outside the UK. The Times/Sunday Times has also moved some of the older articles into an archive which requires separate registration and requires you to pay to access the content. The Independent now charges for access to articles more than a week old. Everton - Matt GaynorWell this made our performance against Leicester look like Brazil 1970. Stunningly inept. Left home at 7.30am - got back at 11pm, to watch us get ripped apart by journeymen such as Watson, Unsworth and Carsley. If they'd have had Rooney or indeed anyone who could shoot straight we'd have been six down by half-time. Three subs at half-time - only question who to take off, the defence were only saved by the presence of Harte as the only defensive sub, but somehow Morris was the only midfielder to survive despite clearly being the worst player out there, with the possible exception of Roque Jr, who looks more whale in the desert than fish out of water. Marginal improvement with Lennon and Bridges second half, though Smithy was woeful in midfield and we probably only held it at four as Everton got bored. Fans kept going at least with chants of "Martyn, Martyn let us score" and the return of the "We'll score again" song. Don't really know where we go next - start by putting Matteo back in central defence and give Olembe a run in the middle in place of Morris and hope Bridges can stay fit, we'd still struggle but any points over the next month will be a surprise the way things are going. Depressed Everton - Richard WalkerWorse performance for 20 years. Like somebody said it made our Leicester performance look like a Brazil 1970 performance. The Leeds fans were brilliant. For the last 20 minutes we sang "Champions of Europe" with tops off (well not me, I was too hungover) The Everton fans couldn't believe it. "We'll support you ever more" - which is the sure sign that the club is f'cked. The admission that the team are rubbish and all we have left is our brilliant support. At the final whistle Junior walked straight off - he was the first player off the park. From the comments around me I'd say he's Leeds career is over. Smith, Matteo and kelly clapped our support. Says it all really. Morris and Junior will nearly fighting in the second half and we had the ridiculous sight of Junior chasing Morris down the pitch after the abuse that he had just been given. Although I agree with Morris's sentiments I don't think he has earned the right to slag off his team mates. Also Olembe and Bridges having a bit of a disagreement second half. Spirit is not good. The loan players have really lost the Leeds spirit. It is very, very sad to see. It's time to get Lennon, Milner, Matteo (at centre back) , Batty, Smith , Bridges, Kelly, Radebe , Richardson and co back into the team. We need people who care because although those players may not be good enough to keep us up at least we'll go down fighting. The current lot will go down without giving two f'cks. Junior doesn't care. I was watching Junior closely throughout. I have said that I wont judge him until 10 games of settling in but he doesn't do the basics. He doesn't mark his man, he just saunters around doing nothing. He is a liability. It's like watching a clown play. He does not deserve to wear the shirt. Reid has to terminate his contract NOW - based on his attitude in the Everton game alone. His perfomance sickened me. Other things :- When Bridges came on he never stopped running and although our midfield was non existant (Morris isn't good enough - I think we can all see that now) he actually scared the Everton defence to death and actually gave Viduka a bit of space to operate in and he did well in making Martyn make his only save of the match. Smith on the other hand showed us why he's no midfielder. First half Pennant was our only player who got the ball down , ran at Everton and looked dangerous. Ok, he should have done better but at least he was positive. If you compare his performance to Morris then you have to say the Morris was lucky to stay on the pitch. Why didn't Reid move Pennant into the centre ? Johnson is an under achiever. Maybe he's just not good enough. Matteo has to play at Centre back. He's the best at the club. He is uncomfortable at left back. Gary Kelly's distribution was worse than ever. Robinson - 4 "We'll support you ever more" We'll score again (honest guv.) - Rob WoodWell, what a pathetic display. No passion and no commitment, even when 4-0 up. Less about the Everton fans though. From a position right next to the pitch it's hard to get a decent perspective on a game, but when your team's goal has been peppered from start to finish, and even before the first goal's gone in you're lucky not to be three down, you don't need much perspective. This makes games like 1-2 against Ipswich of three seasons ago and O'Leary's 4-3-3 experiments look like world class performances. Leeds didn't have a team today, they had eleven players and not the hint of a team. Want to know about the goals? If not, hide behind the sofa now. Goal One: Roque Junior facing the Leeds goal tries some bizarre overhead kick to clear the ball. It falls to that famous predator Steve Watson who swivels and blasts a shot past Robbo, showing Radszzzzinnzzzzsski and Scottish Thug how to shoot straight. (If either of them could, we'd have been about three down already.) Goal Two: Long ball sees the central defence, feet up, puffing on a cigar and knocking back a nice smoky glass of Macallan gaze as some random Everton forward zooms down on goal. Robbo gets a foot to it, but it breaks to Wonder Striker Watson who, about 700 metres out, calmly chips it over the retreating Matteo (who was the only defender at the races today). Goal Three: Watson (I think it was, maybe McFadden who the Everton fans were creaming themselves over) waltzes past the defence like they're not there and crosses to Scottish Thug to header home, possibly unchallenged about five metres out. Goal Four: Whole defence watches as, in slow motion, the ball pings about to Watson who chips the ball from a narrow angle into the net. Mercifully that was it although Rooney missed a one on one, in true Leeds style in the last minute. 5-0 would not have flattered Everton. FFS, 10-0 wouldn't have. The best thing about the match? Seeing Nigel Martyn playing again and giving him a tremendous reception. The defence and midfield (not to mention half of the attack) desperately need sorting out. Rich is right about Morris to a great extent. The game passes him by. I don't think it's because of his height. Lennon's tiny, but he manages to get hold of the ball and do something with it. Morris seems to be forever chasing the ball and never quite getting there. We need someone who can get hold of the ball, keep hold of it and pass to other players. Someone who can also win tackles. Any suggestions?! Reid tried to change it at half time, bringing on three subs, but to my mind it should have been Viduka, Morris and Roque that should have gone off. The three of them looked respectively like they couldn't be arsed, couldn't cut it and couldn't remember what that round thing was that was pinging about the pitch - and what you were supposed to do to stop people putting said round thing in that netting thing behind him. Three short seasons ago we taunted Everton fans with: "We're all going on a European Tour" and "You're all going on a Nationwide tour." Unless PR manages to see the faults in his signings and changes things about, *we'll* be taking the Nationwide tour next season. Scores on the doors: Reid plunged into fresh misery one year one - Dominic FifieldCopy from Football Unlimited of
29/09/2003.
Miserable history is repeating itself. A little under a year since Peter Reid was sacked by Sunderland his world is imploding again at Leeds, his position painfully undermined here as much by his listless players as by Steve Watson's first senior hat-trick. The Yorkshire club were actually spared the hiding their inept display deserved yesterday but Everton, for all their profligacy, still ran riot. Leeds now languish in the relegation zone with Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal looming large after next week's game with Blackburn. Any more displays as feeble as this and, for all the financial implications of dismissing him, Reid's position will become untenable. Disappointment at his team's failings has quickly given way to angry disbelief. "If they haven't got desire or they don't want to compete, what can you do?" asked Reid. "We train, we organise but we didn't turn up. We didn't want to turn up. I've got no excuses and I can't explain that performance, I can't justify it to the Leeds fans. It's hard to take. There's no passion, no desire."
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