Leeds United: Leeds capitulate in the capital against QPR
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00:00So, Lee, here we are once again talking about Leeds United. I think there's a lot to unpack
00:06on this episode of our little chat. Obviously, Friday night did not go the way Leeds wanted
00:14it to. A 4-0 defeat at Loftus Road in the Championship was not what the doctor ordered
00:21in terms of Leeds' automatic promotion push. Ipswich, of course, then went and got a point
00:26away at Hull City. That's put them level on points with Leeds with still a game in hand
00:30which will happen against Coventry City. That's still to come at the time of recording. But
00:35if we start with that QPR game and where Leeds are likely to be at the end of the season
00:39and it's looking likely that the play-offs will be where they end up. Firstly, if we
00:44look at the game, just what went wrong?
00:47Well, everything, really. I mean, they just didn't turn up, did they, really? I mean,
00:52you can have plenty of defeats where you're unlucky and, you know, you're beaten by the
00:55odd goal or maybe a bad decision or you don't get the rub of the green or, you know, things
00:59go against you or whatever, really, or a tight contest that can go either way. But that definitely
01:04wasn't the case in this one. And to be honest, some of the stats are almost a bit misleading
01:08really when you look at it. 15 shots for Leeds and 11 for QPR and 61% possession. But how
01:14many times have we said on here those stats don't matter? The only stat that matters is
01:17the one in the top corner of the score and 4-0 to QPR and fair play to them because they
01:21looked up for it. They came out for the fight and they fully deserved the victory. And it
01:25was just very, very worrying from Leeds. It really was. I mean, I'm sure it's hard
01:30to measure, isn't it? But I'm sure pressure does huge things when there's so much at stake
01:33in a game like that. But it was just a poor display, really. And they're just never the
01:39right intensity and just never really seemed like, you know, I'm sure obviously everyone
01:42wants to win and, you know, the club and Daniel Farker and everybody want to get this team
01:46promoted, of course, to do, you know, but that's almost like maybe the pressure's a
01:49bit too much. And it was just very, very worrying and an awful night. And we've seen a lot of
01:54away games this season where Leeds haven't produced the goods and they've fallen to some
01:57bad defeats and whatever. But in some of those, you know, there have been decisions and whatever's
02:00gone against them. But you can't really argue with that one. And yes, there were chances
02:04they didn't take. But right from the start, from the very get-go, it just felt like it
02:08was going to be a very long night. And we talked beforehand in the preview about some
02:11of their danger men at QPR. And we said how it could be a difficult game, you know, how
02:15they looked like, how they were probably a better team than when they were in the division.
02:19And one of the danger men we picked out was Elias Chair. And to give him that amount of
02:23room, you know, in just a ninth minute was staggering, really. I mean, he just basically
02:26just marauded up to the edge of the box and cut inside, passed Gruev, and then that, you
02:30know, a bit of a deflection, yes, but finishing to the bottom right. And, you know, straight
02:34away, obviously, when that goes in, you get a bit of a sinking feeling. Yes, Leeds managed
02:38to come back against Borough. But, you know, and you sort of hoped that might be the case
02:41again this time. But, I mean, Joel Peru had a couple of efforts, but it just didn't really
02:45happen. And as soon as it went 2-0, then I think a lot better. I mean, obviously, there's
02:48always goals in that side, but you just felt like one of those nights from very, very early
02:53on, really. And only time will tell how damaging it will be. But I think you're totally right.
02:57Obviously, the gut instincts after that game, even though Daniel Farker wasn't throwing
03:00in the towel, and nor should he, because there was still a chance. But the gut feeling for
03:04everybody, myself, fans, everybody included, I think, is that basically the team and the
03:07club are heading for the playoffs. But we shall wait and see. Obviously, we're recording
03:11this before the Ipswich game in midweek at Coventry. You could say that Leeds were given
03:17a bit of a lifeline the following night in terms of Ipswich having that 3-3 draw. Obviously,
03:21yes, it would have been even better if they lost. But I think a lot of people expected
03:24them to probably go there and win the sort of side that Ipswich are. But fair play to
03:28Hull. They gave it a right good go. I mean, some of the defending there in that game as
03:31double block at the end was absolutely phenomenal. And to be honest, that's kind of like what
03:35you felt like you wanted to see from Leeds. It's a really hard one to sort of put your
03:38finger on what went wrong. As I say, there have been some bad away days this season,
03:41but that was like a different level, really. It was the heaviest defeat of the season on
03:45the figures and really, really damaging. I mean, what you would say is that if at the
03:50end of the season it is the playoffs, it won't just be down to that one game. You know, it'll
03:53be down to like obviously various slip ups throughout the season. But the fact is, is
03:57that they've had numerous chances during this sort of running where, you know, to put it
04:01sort of like back in their hands or to pile the pressure on. They just haven't taken those
04:04chances. Obviously, look about the home defeat to Blackburn and things like that. And extremely,
04:08extremely disappointed. As I say, we're doing this before the midweek game for Ipswich.
04:13And, you know, obviously if they fall to a defeat there at Coventry, then all of a sudden,
04:17you know, it sort of changes somewhat, doesn't it? So, I mean, you know, we're sort of pre-empting
04:20things a little bit, but the bottom line is that felt like a massive, massive blow. I don't
04:26think anybody expected it to be easy going there. As I say, they're a lot better than where they
04:30are in the league table. We've got some good players. Elias Chairs, a very, very good player,
04:33as we all saw, but just extremely, extremely disappointing. And you've got to move on now.
04:38And the only thing you would say is that most times this season when Leeds have had setbacks,
04:42obviously apart from sort of back-to-back defeats around Christmastime, they've generally tended to
04:46bounce back. And quite simply, they've got to bounce back now because they're better than that.
04:50And it's so frustrating as well for everybody to see that and the fans, because you look at this,
04:54it almost doesn't beg us belief when you look at some of the results this season, like
04:58obviously Leicester have now sealed the title and Leeds did the double over them, you know,
05:01they beat them home and away. Ipswich beat them home and away as well, you know, and it looks
05:04like Ipswich might end up sitting in that second promotion spot. And, you know, then obviously
05:08Leeds go and lose 4-0 against QPR. And, you know, fair play to them though. You know, they,
05:13you know, just found more intensity from them, better on the night basically,
05:17and deserved the victory. And yeah, Leeds have to bounce back.