Leeds United 1-0 Bolton Wanderers: Responsibility & Results
It’s almost as if employing an under-qualified coach that nobody believed in created an atmosphere of despondency and a fear, quickly confirmed, that the team would be dragged down to the coach’s level. Funny that.
Do we try to understand why that was so much better, or do we just be thankful that it was and enjoy it while we can?
Because this was better, better by miles. During the Hockaday era each game felt like an era of its own; a long, drawn out and miserable era; nothing was happening and it felt like it was never ending.
That wasn’t the case against Bolton. This might sound daft, but it felt like the players were just kicking the ball harder to each other, kicking the ball with intent and purpose, instead of just going through the motions without any conviction. Instead of Tonge rolling the ball meekly to Norris, we had Cook pinging the ball deliberately to Mowatt. After six games of playing like Junior Lewis looked, the dithering confusion was gone.
A lot of this had to do with a new look midfield, and a lot also had to do with Hockaday’s departure. Dave might have claimed that his middle name was ‘pressure’, and that he could handle whatever came his way, but it wasn’t his place to put the same pressure on youngsters like Mowatt and Cook.
Lewis Cook’s memories of his debut will always be tempered by remembering his slack pass and the penalty he gave away, but then he had been given the job, aged seventeen, of attempting to save a point for a poor Leeds team away at Millwall.
Against Bolton, with Hockaday gone and the pressure he brought with him lifted, Cook was able to thrive. Everyone was able to thrive, in fact, and it’s remarkable how much of the dark mood that has threatened to overwhelm Elland Road departed with Hockaday. It’s almost as if employing an under-qualified coach that nobody believed in created an atmosphere of despondency and a fear, quickly confirmed, that the team would be dragged down to the coach’s level. Funny that.
It’s not that Neil Redfearn is as inspirational as a Mourinho, but nobody would have held a defeat against Redders the way defeats have been held against the Hock; whatever he did today, and whatever the result, it was guaranteed that Redfearn’s efforts would be appreciated. A positive atmosphere like that is the ideal place for a young player like Cook.