3 Leeds Owls on A Shirt

Been awhile since my last post on this site. But what better way to return than a short and sad story about my club's 5-0 mauling at the hands of Blackpool?

Rarely in football can you ascribe defeat to one player. It takes 11 individuals to win and the same number to lose. But even though Leeds United failed to find the net, you can certainly pin the shame and blame for the loss on Paul Rachubka for this loss. Post-Halloween, Rachubka created a horror story all his own and forced terrified manager Simon Grayson into substituting him for Alex Cairns...18-year-old Alex Cairns.

One thing the United States has always been able to offer football are top-notch goalkeepers. In recent history, we've seen Keller, Hahnemann, Friedel, and Tim Howard give quality performances at the highest level. And upon seeing this standard, let's just say the closest Rachubka will come to wearing this shirt is if he buys it from a shop in Leeds.

It will be interesting to see how the squad responds to this debacle. Sometimes clubs bounce right back. But to do so the squad must have confidence in the keeper. We don't have that at Leeds now.

Let me get this straight. Togo's team bus is ambushed in Angola. Two people die and several are injured in that ambush. Understandably, the Togo football squad decides to withdraw from the tournament.

And how does The Confederation of African Football (CAF) respond? By suspending Togo for two years and issuing them a fine.

It is absolutely stunning in our place and time that the reaction of a governing authority to the victim of a terrorist act is to blame the victim. What did the CAF want Togo to do? Pretend that their team bus wasn't shot up on their way to the African Nations Cup? Were the players supposed to pretend it didn't happen and compete as if the incident were the equivalent to spilling a drink on their seat? Was the Togolese Government supposed to take the CAF stance and act like there simply wasn't a problem at all?

Instead of taking a close look at security measures for National Teams competing in the African Nations Cup, CAF simply wants to live a fantasy and go on thinking they have no responsibility for ensuring the safety of their member nations' squads. They would prefer the money-spinning Cup keep raking in the funds rather than expend some of that money on protecting these players and staff members. Anything that upsets that fantasy world, even the justified reaction of a terrified Togo National Team, meets with swift and moronic punishment.

They were more interested in protecting the image of the African Nations Cup than in supporting a terrorised group of individuals whose interests they claim to serve. Togo deserved better from their governing body.

'Tis a good thing the occupants of the bus weren't completely wiped out. CAF no doubt would've fined them for being late to the match.

The Yorkshire Evening Post had a nice article about former midfielder Andy Williams. Williams was Howard Wilkinson's first signing as Leeds manager. He had a difficult time breaking through a midfield featuring, among others, Gordon Strachan and Gary McCallister. But nevertheless made his way into Leeds legend with one of the oddest injuries ever for a footballer. It involved this:



Mr. Vinnie Jones:



And, a final, important ingredient, the mug of Andy Williams



Goes without saying Andy came out second best in the incident.

The fears of this morning unfortunately came to pass. The irony is that the matches garnering the most coverage and prestige are damaging our hopes for promotion in the most vital matches of Leeds United's season. The scoreline...3-0 to Swindon Town...didn't do Swindon justice. They should've scored more and they would've were it not for the magnificent efforts of Casper Ankergren. Ankergren picked up where he left off against Tottenham. His work rate and will to win were unfortunately not matched by the other 10 on the pitch. At times it looked like 11 against one valiant goalkeeper.