Former Leeds United man on big Whites problem, 'fixtures from hell' and a 'ridiculous' Anfield miracle against Liverpool

Even before I saw the Leeds United team to face Arsenal, I knew it was going to be difficult - after a 7-0 defeat it’s always going to be difficult.
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At home you expect a better performance, but we had a lot of players missing and then Diego Llorente is out on the morning of the game.

You have hope that you start well and try to work your way into the game but we didn’t really do that.

We settled a little bit but then the goals started coming.

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The team I saw, you could see the fragility in their confidence. Look at the way they move. Thinking back to when they were playing well and how they moved the ball, the confidence they had to make those third-man runs because everyone kept the ball really well. Suddenly the movement doesn’t seem right, there’s no real fluidity and that’s to be expected when you have different people in different positions.

Arsenal were playing their fourth-straight game with the same XI, we can’t even do two-straight games with the same centre-halves, let alone the same XI. It makes it difficult. When I played, we had the same XI so I knew exactly what each player was going to do in every minute.

These boys clearly don’t and how they play is quite complicated so, if they give the ball away or that run isn’t made, it all breaks down.I didn’t see any fluidity against Arsenal and, when we lose the ball against good teams, that’s when we struggle. The high press in games against good teams is when we come unstuck. The way we play, it’s a strength and a weakness, a strength against the so-called lesser teams when we’re playing well and a weakness against the top sides.

I hate giving excuses out - when you cross that white line it’s XI v XI - but you have to look at the circumstances and missing 10 or 11 players is absolutely crazy. Added to that, our squad is a very small one, it’s the smallest, it’s been made that way and, unfortunately at times like this, we feel the full effects. You can’t look past that, but you really don’t want to give excuses.Even when you play with a slight knock, you go out there and you have to be 100 per cent ready to go; no one is going to understand afterwards. We’re losing and we need to improve, it’s as simple as that.

BIG POSITIVE - The presence of youngsters like Joe Gelhardt in the Leeds United line-up is something to cheer Whites supporters, says Tony Dorigo. Pic: GettyBIG POSITIVE - The presence of youngsters like Joe Gelhardt in the Leeds United line-up is something to cheer Whites supporters, says Tony Dorigo. Pic: Getty
BIG POSITIVE - The presence of youngsters like Joe Gelhardt in the Leeds United line-up is something to cheer Whites supporters, says Tony Dorigo. Pic: Getty
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As for positives, the crowd were magnificent, it was almost bizarre. The best performance came from the crowd and made me feel incredible pride. They know it’s not happening for the team but the way they supported the boys, certainly at 4-1 down, I’m not sure anyone else in the country would have reacted like that. It’s good to see they’re firmly behind the manager and the players.

It was also good to see young players come on, Joe Gelhardt starting and Liam McCarron, Crysencio Summerville and Sam Greenwood as substitutes, but you’d really rather blood them individually at the right time, in better circumstances. Getting on that pitch is a huge milestone in their careers though, so congratulations to them. When the Premier League met, I thought we might get some respite for at least one game but it didn’t happen and on we go.

I had a situation at Derby County as a player when we had to go to Liverpool and all our best players were out. We were going through a complete nightmare with injuries and, on Friday in training, we lost another two. We had four or five kids who had never played before travelling with us and we didn’t even know the team. Jim Smith had some red wine the night before because he was panicking and he wasn’t there for the team meeting on the Saturday morning so we ended up going to Anfield with all these kids, wetting themselves and not knowing if they were playing, but somehow put a team together. Steve McClaren read the team out, we put an XI out there and we won 2-1 which was quite ridiculous. We were in the trenches, got a bit of luck and kept sticking with it. Anything can happen, absolutely anything.

The first game last season at Anfield was one of the best games I’ve seen, it was just a shame fans weren’t there, and this time the players have to soak it up. Anfield is such a special place and, for any of those youngsters who get on, it will be a very special occasion. All they can do is get out there, prepare correctly and give it their best shot. If they do that, they should be very proud of themselves, whatever happens.

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It will, of course, be incredibly difficult on Boxing Day. You couldn’t get worse fixtures than this set of four - they’re the fixtures from hell, the top four in the league and three of them are away. It was always expected to be a huge blip going the wrong way. We know how hard it is for the team right now but it’s hugely important to try and put a performance in each time, no matter the result because, when we meet Aston Villa and Burnley, we can’t suddenly turn the tap on. It has to be on at Anfield.