Another horrific performance from Blues saw them slump to another loss, this time to a Leeds side who were not in great form themselves. Leeds got all the plaudits for their 4-0 victory, but truly it was Blues' defensive incompetence that was the cause of their victory. Whilst it could be argued that Blues could and maybe should have grabbed 2 or 3 goals, it's also true that the scoreline could have been much, much worse.
Early on, Ross McCormack almost benefited from Blues' frailty as he latched on to pass that Dan Burn failed to cut out, but only found the legs of Randolph with his effort. Shortly after however, he did open the scoring with a simple finish after Blues failed to deal with a simple long ball. Burn failed to clear a ball and Randolph ran out, but couldn't clear the ball with any conviction. The real problem came when he rushed out to try and clear it properly, but was caught out of position as Rodolph Austin laid the ball off for McCormack who stroked home despite Burn's best efforts.
Blues were on the back foot and just couldn't get hold of the ball. A powderpuff midfield of Wade Elliott and Olly Lee, making his debut, could do little to stop the powerful Austin breaking free time and time again. He found McCormack free of the last defender with a lovely pass, but he again could not beat Randolph with his left foot drive. Leeds continued to pile on the pressure and it didn't take too long for it pay off. Austin again raced forward unmarked and evaded the attentions of the defenders to head home McCormack's left-wing cross. Things went from bad to worse just before the break as Matt Smith slotted into the bottom corner after Randolph parried the initial shot from his strike partner.
Blues went in after a desperate first half with their heads down and changes had to be made. Nikola Zigic came on for the ever ineffective Novak, with the shaky Burn coming off for Andrew Shinnie, signalling a change to 4 at the back. Zigic did his best to lead the comeback, with a ferocious strike which was tipped over. He found Burke with a clever ball, whose back post cross was cleared off the line before Zigic could force it in. Burke could quite easily have scored himself, firing wide with his usually reliable left foot after cutting inside.
Though Blues improved in the second half, Leeds still piled on the pressure. Smith was a huge thorn in the Blues side, forcing an incredible save from Randolph. Randolph had a very good game other than the one mistake, but he could do nothing to stop Smith firing an unstoppable header into the top corner 2 minutes later. Smith's goal killed the game entirely and compounded Blues to a disappointing 4-0 loss.
Questions have been and will be raised over certain selections, but most of them were through necessity. A midfield of Lee and Elliott was always going to struggle to contain the Leeds midfield, but with Adeyemi unavailable and Reilly not fully fit, it was difficult to field a solid midfield. Obviously, the three at the back system did not work, so maybe a 4-2-3-1 would have been better, but in all honesty it was the poor performances of the defenders that was the real problem. Novak over Zigic was a ridiculous choice however. Zigic has as many goals in 2 games at Elland Road as Novak does in the Championship, yet Novak got the nod. Whilst I realise that this may not have stopped us losing, it must be said that the added pressure that Zigic puts on the defence may have caused the Leeds players to be more cautious. It also gave us a spearhead to build attacks from, as his aerial threat could create space and give us an outlet. Clark must not be admonished from blame due to baffling team selections and a reluctance to drop Novak, but at the same time he is working under impossible circumstances, at least for the foreseeable future.
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