x

Southampton At Ipswich Town The Preview

After the disappointment of Saturday's game against Middlesbrough, Saints get back into it quickly and travel to Portman Road knowing that anything less than a win will see our hopes of automatic promotion all but ended.

I am starting to sound like a broken record these days, but again on Saturday we paid the price for not having our strongest defence on the park, crucially in the final stages of the game.

No one is pointing any fingers at Jack Stephens directly, indeed he had a reasonable enough game against Boro, however he is not the best player to play in a central pairing, that has to be Jan Bednarek & Taylor Harwood - Bellis.

So all eyes will be on Russell Martin and this will be a test of his own leadership, is he strong enough to recognise just what it was that built the foundation of a 22 game unbeaten run.

The manager often cites Jack's organising and leadership qualities as why he seemingly will play him at any chance, however in the final minutes of the game on Saturday, just when you need to keep things tight, there was little sign of any sort of leadership or organisation and of game management, to put it bluntly we just kept on playing as if we had 30 minutes left on the clock.

We needed to change tack a little and look to close out the game, but instead we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot and Boro were pulling us all over the place at the back.

So in what is the first of what hopefully will be a couple of more last chance saloon's we go to Ipswich knowing that defeat will all but finish off our hopes of automatic promotion as it will leave us 13 points behind the Tractor Boys and possibly more behind Leeds.

Our best side has to be put out for this one, that means KWP at right back, Bednarek & THB in the middle and Bree at left back, if he has to shoe in Jack Stephens then it has to be at left back, but no manager should be shoeing in players at this point of the season.

Jack Stephens has been the butt of much criticism of late and it is no secret that I am not his biggest fan, but I do give him credit where it is due, he played well on Saturday and showed that as a squad player he is a good alternative in several positions, but good squad players should not play in front of those who are better than them, especially in a game as tough as this.

I would say that the team for this one should pretty much pick itself, that means Bednarek back in for Stephens, the starting midfield trio from Saturday and then Ryan Fraser on the left, Adam Armstrong in the middle and David Brooks on the right.

Get the game under our control and then keep control of it.

So judgement day for Russell Martin at Portman Road, hopefully he will be judged well and we will live to fight another day.

What to read next:

Leeds crush Norwich to cruise through to play-off final
With our recent form being what it was, I was expecting a nervy encounter, with Leeds struggling to get through the Norwich City defence, but how wrong I was! Suddenly we recovered the swagger we have shown for much of the season, and not a moment too soon.
Farke happy with the result after bore draw at Norwich
Many neutrals have complained on social media that yesterday’s game at Norwich City was a bit on the dull side, but the Leeds team wasn't set up to please them. For us it was the result that mattered, and it should leave us in a better position to get through to the final.
Norwich Awaydaze
For the second time this season we are visiting Norwich City, this time for the play-off game at high noon on Sunday, and the kick-off time is of course thanks to our good friends at Sky Sports. You’ll find Carrow Road is about a mile to the south-east of the city centre.
May the 4th not with us as we finish the regular season with a tepid defeat
If we were ever going to have a final day miracle we needed a much better performance than this final day showing against Southampton, so now we have to endure the agony of the play-offs yet again.
Leeds United 1 - 2 Southampton - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Leeds heading for the play-offs after shocker at QPR
Just when we thought we’d turned the corner with that win at Boro, we slipped back into the desperate form of the post-international break period, losing heavily to Queens Park Rangers in this critical game.
Queens Park Rangers 4 - 0 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
QPR Awaydaze
Our trip to Queens Park Rangers is at 8pm on Friday, thanks once again to our very good friends at Sky Sports. We’re not famous any more!
Crisis, what Crisis?
As Mark Twain might have said, rumours of the death of our promotion hopes have been greatly exaggerated. Last night’s win at Middlesbrough was a hard watch towards the end, but the vital three points has got our campaign back on track.
Middlesbrough 3 - 4 Leeds United - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.