Gary McAllister

[davewebbsbrain]

Still dont agree. The fact you state in your post you 'hate the leeds scum' will no doubt be echoed across the country, which is why people pay that little bit more attention to Leeds.

Not sure anyone but local rivals would say things like 'I hate the Swindon / Scunthorpe / Hereford scum'. The fact there is so much vitriol towards Leeds is just evidence of this...as is the increase in attendances they bring. McAllister was not saying they are the better team than us or anything like that, but rightly pointing out that they are a fixture other teams look out for.

I too have a general dislike of Leeds fans and hope Ken Bates steers them to oblivion, but I cant dispute their presence on the fixture list makes the league that bit more glamorous.

They are just another so-so team in L1 that we have to beat to get promoted..and we did, so end of!!

 

[graysblue]

to be fair teams raise their game against oppo such as leeds,however its up to macca and leeds to overcome it.

 

[toellandback]

Southend 1 Leeds 0

GARY McALLISTER says he is sick and tired of losing cup finals — especially as Leeds play at least one every week.


The Elland Road club were sent spinning to a fourth straight away defeat by Dan Harding’s super strike.


McAllister insisted: “We can’t hide behind teams treating games against us like a cup final.


“They’ve just come off a 4-2 spanking at Bristol Rovers and their manager would have been looking for a reaction. So they’ve worked their socks off for the win.”


Harding curled home an 18th-minute free-kick.


Shrimpers boss Steve Tilson said: “It was a fantastic result.”


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1868542.ece

Sorry

I hadn't read that. I would be unsure about that being an exact quote, it is the Sun aswell :unsure:

 

[toellandback]

to be fair teams raise their game against oppo such as leeds,however its up to macca and leeds to overcome it.

Thats it. Its something we will have to cope with.
Anyone that has any knowledge of football knows that Macca is a well respected figure. It does not fit his profile to be offending people and being disrespectful.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

to be fair teams raise their game against oppo such as leeds,however its up to macca and leeds to overcome it.

But why should players raise their game...If they can play that good, they should bloody well play that good every week!!

 

[toellandback]

But why should players raise their game...If they can play that good, they should bloody well play that good every week!!

If fans can make noise like that and turn up in large numbers they should each week aswell no? The truth is some games people fancy more. Its hard to understand as a fan but there we go.

 

[graysblue]

But why should players raise their game...If they can play that good, they should bloody well play that good every week!!

if tilly could suss it out mate we would be top 6 in the prem.

 

[South Bank Hank]

I think he has a point personally. As much as Leeds are guilty of big club-itis, I think we can be guilty of the opposite in our response to comments like these. Leeds United ARE a big club, no matter what division they are in and it's difficult for us not to see them as more of a scalp than the rest of the division.

The Leeds fixtures were certainly one of the first I looked for when the fixtures were published along with Col U, Orient and various others. There's no doubt that last night was massive and there's also no doubt that our whole group of players seemed to raise their game. How many people have said "I wish we played like that every week" since?

What McAllister said was that "many teams raise their games when playing at home against Leeds United and this was the case with Southend".

I make him right.

But why should players raise their game...If they can play that good, they should bloody well play that good every week!!

I also make YOU right there, but it's never going to happen!

 

[Skyblue]

I think in a way our players did play it like a cup final, to be far to him.

Thats only because they probably/hopefully had such a kick up the arse from Saturdays performance that that was the only way they were going to play it. It could have been anybody who copped the rebound it just happened to be Leeds.

 

[number11]

They are just another so-so team in L1 that we have to beat to get promoted..and we did, so end of!!

But, hand on heart, purely based on the result and putting performances aside, have you derived more pleasure from the fact we beat Leeds than Hereford / Swindon? Did the Leeds fixture stand out above other fixtures such as Scunthorpe, Oldham Huddersfield at home? I suspect for a number of people the answer would be yes (even if only slightly....) and therefore McAllister was right in what he was saying.

 

[toellandback]

I think he has a point personally. As much as Leeds are guilty of big club-itis, I think we can be guilty of the opposite. Leeds United ARE a big club, no matter what division they are in.

The Leeds fixtures were certainly one of the first I looked for when the fixtures were published along with Col U, Orient and various others. There's no doubt that last night was massive and there's also no doubt that our whole group of players seemed to raise their game. How many people have said "I wish we played like that every week" since?

What McAllister said was that "many teams raise their games when playing at home against Leeds United and this was the case with Southend".

I make him right.

I would green if i could. Again spot on. Yes sometimes we come across as arrogant but this is what we put up with week after week. Us fans accept the team is league 1 but we deserve better. How many clubs will bring more than us on a saturday let alone a cold tuesday night?

 

[toellandback]

Thats only because they probably/hopefully had such a kick up the arse from Saturdays performance that that was the only way they were going to play it. It could have been anybody who copped the rebound it just happened to be Leeds.

And you would have had 10k the next game after you got beat 4-2 how many times this season?

 

[toellandback]

But, hand on heart, purely based on the result and putting performances aside, have you derived more pleasure from the fact we beat Leeds than Hereford / Swindon? Did the Leeds fixture stand out above other fixtures such as Scunthorpe, Oldham Huddersfield at home? I suspect for a number of people the answer would be yes (even if only slightly....) and therefore McAllister was right in what he was saying.

How many threads and posts on the run in, the game and the result of last nights game are there compared to a normal game? Look i am not trying to be funny but there is such a reluctance to give us any credit or praise or even simple acknowledgment its laughable at times.

 

[South Bank Hank]

I would green if i could. Again spot on. Yes sometimes we come across as arrogant but this is what we put up with week after week. Us fans accept the team is league 1 but we deserve better. How many clubs will bring more than us on a saturday let alone a cold tuesday night?

Thank you, but all that said, I still detest Leeds with a passion for their attitude to life last season, the underhand tactics of their chairman and investors and the way they treated local businesses - but there's no point going over all that again.

;)

I'm not sure I agree with "we deserve better" though mate simply because you take a large following. For the same reasons as above, you ARE a big club and you have a big following anyway. On that logic, you taking 1000 people to Southend is no different to us taking 300 somewhere equally distant. I admire the type of fan who sticks with their club during the lean years, but as a percentage of our fan base, our traveling support is no different to yours.

 

[MrB]

Plus I wouldn't say they were so-so, on a passing and moving basis they were one of the slickest teams I've seen at the Hall in a while. Last time I can remember a team like that was when Cardiff tore us a new one in the Championship.

I understand McAllister's comment, we noticeably raised our game, our work rate was phenomenal and I didn't think we could maintain it for 90 minutes but we did. We certainly needed to and if we sneak into the play offs at the end of the season I'll certainly look back at that result as oe that made a difference.

 

[graysblue]

How many threads and posts on the run in, the game and the result of last nights game are there compared to a normal game? Look i am not trying to be funny but there is such a reluctance to give us any credit or praise or even simple acknowledgment its laughable at times.

mate,
i thought leeds looked very decent last night and they will in my view def gain promotion,the away following for a freezing tuesday night was superb.


in addition when i saw leeds thump lyn oslo 10 0 in the euro cup back in 1970 they had me spellbound.

 

[Tilly hates yellow boots]

Thats only because they probably/hopefully had such a kick up the arse from Saturdays performance that that was the only way they were going to play it. It could have been anybody who copped the rebound it just happened to be Leeds.

However, i believe it would have been alot harder to get the team as motivated as they were yesterday against leeds, if it was carlise away or such.

 

[NZamba Legend]

If Leeds can't get themselves motivated for a cup final then I cant see how that's our problem. As a big club ourselves we have also had to live with this phenomenon. I remember that when we were in the Championship we regularly used to knock a couple of thousand off the home attendance. Leeds may have a lot of fans but they must realise that at league one level you cant just turn up and sing 'we all love Leeds' sporadically and expect to come away with the three points. This is the big time and no place for a novice. So, Gary McAllister, if you cant stand the heat then you'd better leave Roots Hall 'cos we is cookin' up a football feast.

 

[toellandback]

Thank you, but all that said, I still detest Leeds with a passion for their attitude to life last season, the underhand tactics of their chairman and investors and the way they treated local businesses - but there's no point going over all that again.

;)

"I tend to agree with most of that"

I'm not sure I agree with "we deserve better" though mate simply because you take a large following. For the same reasons as above, you ARE a big club and you have a big following anyway. On that logic, you taking 1000 people to Southend is no different to us taking 300 somewhere equally distant. I admire the type of fan who sticks with their club during the lean years, but as a percentage of our fan base, our traveling support is no different to yours.

We took 2k but thats not the point. We have sold out nearly every away game since we have the premiership. We have of the highest home gates in UK still to this day despite prices and Bates etc.
My point was that we have a fan base that travels in huge numbers usually in good spirits and voice EVERY week. We get abused, shunted and herded. We get very few kick-offs at 3 on a saturday yet people still do it. Its to them that i take my hat off to.

Btw the point i was trying to make is best shown by looking at a premiership club. Middlesborough took 650 to Blackburn on a saturday, what league your in doesn't effect how big your club is.

 

[Crawliano]

Typical British attitude, love it when a success fails. 6 years ago a lot of the British public were quietly cheering Leeds on when they got to a CL semi against AC Milan. Now they're down everyone wants to jump up and down on them and send them further into the gutter.

Red tops love it, so does the man on the street.

If Chelsea got relegated through 2 divisions the same would apply but had it have happened 15 years ago nobody really would've given much of a ****. Watch what happens when Leicester come to town, 8-9,000 gate tops and nowhere near as much noise / contempt for them.

Then again though, I got bragging rights on my uncle so it's all good.