Post by Taxigirl on Aug 2, 2005 8:05:53 GMT
www.leedsunited.com
Pre-season preparations have gone well but United manager Kevin Blackwell is still insisting on more from his squad with the start of the season less than a week away.
Blackwell was reflecting on his side's final pre-season game against Barnsley which ended in a convincing 2-1 win and could have been a more emphatic victory had two goals from Robbie Blake and David Healy not been ruled out for poor offside decisions.
Leeds appear more than ready for Sunday's opener against Millwall, and Blackwell is far more confident about this season than he was for his first one in charge.
"What's pleasing me is that we are showing a completely different brand of football to what we saw last season," he said.
"The players I brought in are able to deal with the ball under pressure and it shows. We have got a good discipline and a good shape to the team.
"Any player will tell you that pre-season is the most crucial time at any football club. If you get that wrong and you have a poor start then you will struggle, and we know at our cost that the last few seasons the club started with very few players and tried to get them in during the season and found the fitness lacking.
"We have had a very good pre-season and that will stand us in good stead."
David Healy opened the scoring against Barnsley and hit fellow hit man Robbie Blake extended the advantage before Barnsley hit back later in the second half, but by that time Leeds could have been four or five goals with the two strikers looking on good form.
"I thought David Healy put his first goal (that was ruled offside) away with some style, and when the linesman looked up the ball was at his feet and it had already travelled 25-yards, and the same with Robbie Blake because the officials looked at the ball when they received it and not when the ball was played.
"But they still had to finish and they did that in some style."
Blackwell is forever the perfectionist though and he wasn't pleased to see Barnsley gifted a goal after a mistake in midfield allowed Daniel Nardiello to beat Neil Sullivan on the United keeper's first appearance of the season.
"Their goal came from us showboating. Shaun Derry should have just popped the ball back to Dan Harding, but he tried to turn blind, they took it from us and we were on a recovery run. But you need these things to happen in pre-season so you can come in on Monday morning, show them the video and say we keep telling you that if you do that there, this is what will happen. That's a great example for the video and Shaun be watching it this morning.
"When you're 2-0 up you make sure you consolidate and go for three, you don't showboat and you don't show disrespect. We got a smack on the backside for that.
"So there are things we did against Barnsley that I am not happy with and some things we did do that we can do better. It's fine tuning how our shape is going to be and the roles and responsibilities of every indivual player, coach and manager at the football club.
"But we know we are better than we were this time last year and we go into the Millwall game in significantly better shape."
*United's reserves were also in good form on Saturday, beating Stafford Rangers 4-1 with young midfielder Gavin Rothery scoring a hat-trick.
The youngster hat-trick included two superb long range efforts and Michael Ricketts got United's other goal.
Pre-season preparations have gone well but United manager Kevin Blackwell is still insisting on more from his squad with the start of the season less than a week away.
Blackwell was reflecting on his side's final pre-season game against Barnsley which ended in a convincing 2-1 win and could have been a more emphatic victory had two goals from Robbie Blake and David Healy not been ruled out for poor offside decisions.
Leeds appear more than ready for Sunday's opener against Millwall, and Blackwell is far more confident about this season than he was for his first one in charge.
"What's pleasing me is that we are showing a completely different brand of football to what we saw last season," he said.
"The players I brought in are able to deal with the ball under pressure and it shows. We have got a good discipline and a good shape to the team.
"Any player will tell you that pre-season is the most crucial time at any football club. If you get that wrong and you have a poor start then you will struggle, and we know at our cost that the last few seasons the club started with very few players and tried to get them in during the season and found the fitness lacking.
"We have had a very good pre-season and that will stand us in good stead."
David Healy opened the scoring against Barnsley and hit fellow hit man Robbie Blake extended the advantage before Barnsley hit back later in the second half, but by that time Leeds could have been four or five goals with the two strikers looking on good form.
"I thought David Healy put his first goal (that was ruled offside) away with some style, and when the linesman looked up the ball was at his feet and it had already travelled 25-yards, and the same with Robbie Blake because the officials looked at the ball when they received it and not when the ball was played.
"But they still had to finish and they did that in some style."
Blackwell is forever the perfectionist though and he wasn't pleased to see Barnsley gifted a goal after a mistake in midfield allowed Daniel Nardiello to beat Neil Sullivan on the United keeper's first appearance of the season.
"Their goal came from us showboating. Shaun Derry should have just popped the ball back to Dan Harding, but he tried to turn blind, they took it from us and we were on a recovery run. But you need these things to happen in pre-season so you can come in on Monday morning, show them the video and say we keep telling you that if you do that there, this is what will happen. That's a great example for the video and Shaun be watching it this morning.
"When you're 2-0 up you make sure you consolidate and go for three, you don't showboat and you don't show disrespect. We got a smack on the backside for that.
"So there are things we did against Barnsley that I am not happy with and some things we did do that we can do better. It's fine tuning how our shape is going to be and the roles and responsibilities of every indivual player, coach and manager at the football club.
"But we know we are better than we were this time last year and we go into the Millwall game in significantly better shape."
*United's reserves were also in good form on Saturday, beating Stafford Rangers 4-1 with young midfielder Gavin Rothery scoring a hat-trick.
The youngster hat-trick included two superb long range efforts and Michael Ricketts got United's other goal.