Simon Grayson makes blunder on air as Leeds United reach FA Cup Fifth Round
Following Leeds United’s FA Cup Fifth Round victory over Plymouth Argyle on Wednesday, February 7, Simon Grayson got embroiled in a humiliating on-air incident.
After a 1-1 draw at Elland Road, they made the long trip to Home Park for a replay, where Brendan Galloway’s equaliser negated Wilfried Gnonto’s opening goal.
After some extra time and the addition of Crysencio Summerville, the Whites finally came to life and won 4-1 to advance from the Fourth Round.
Leeds has had a less than perfect cup history recently, losing five of the last six seasons in the third round. But it appears that Grayson made a mistake while live on television.
The former Leeds defender said, “I think it’s the first time they’ve got to the fifth round in 20 years, which tells you the runs they have had in cup competitions have not been great,” during a live interview on talkSPORT on Wednesday, February 7, at 9:26 a.m.
Leeds United are still in the FA Cup hat
That remark is undoubtedly true in its second half. Perhaps Grayson was referring to Leeds’ lack of success in the competition since the 2002–03 season, since they haven’t advanced past the quarterfinals.
But since 2012, the Whites have advanced to the Fifth Round three times, indicating that either he simply was unaware of his linguistic error or that some investigation need to have been done before going live.
In order to win at Villa Park or Stamford Bridge, Summerville, Joel Piroe, Georginio Rutter, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, and Illan Meslier will all need to play at their very best.
ANOTHER VIEW
Simon Grayson makes new Marcelo Bielsa comparison at Leeds United
Given Leeds United’s performance thus far this season, Simon Grayson has waxed lyrical about the team live on air, drawing new comparisons between them and the 2020 championship squad led by Marcelo Bielsa.
The former Leeds manager asserted that the team’s success this season is mostly down to the players they brought in over the summer, with their depth and strength outperforming Bielsa’s team.
Alan Brazil cited their record under Daniel Farke, noting that at this time in the season, they had scored more goals and amassed five more points than Bielsa’s club.Brazil asked: “So, Simon, Leeds are five points better off at this stage of the season than Bielsa’s Championship winners of 2020, winning two more games and scoring seven more goals in the process?” while appearing live on talkSPORT [7 February, 09:30].
“I was going to mention that I’ve watched a lot of Leeds games and the opportunities they miss. Is that now the difference?
Grayson went on to say, “I believe so. They made some excellent summertime hires, in my opinion, with Ampadu and Rodon at the back.
However, they have just as many effective attacking alternatives as they do. In addition to the two wingers, centre striker, and attacking midfielder who start every week, they also have guys who come off the bench who understand how important it is to play with caution.
“Gnonto has performed admirably in his previous few games, but during the past several months, he has barely left the bench. With Joel Piroe and Jayadon Anthony, they have some truly potent offensive alternatives, in my opinion.
“I believe that competition for positions and quality can really make a difference. Bamford has returned to the team and started scoring goals as well. They have some really attacking options.”
“I think they’ve got that difference this year compared to the Championship-winning team when they last went up.”
Daniel Farke and Marcelo Bielsa
It may be close to blasphemy in the eyes of many Leeds fans to compare any boss to Bielsa after what he did for the club and the situation he got them out of, inspiring his squad to make their first step into the Premier League after ten consecutive years in the second division.
Farke’s work has been entirely different in that regard. The Premier League calibre of a demoted squad persisted despite being severely diminished due to numerous summer departures.
Even though they currently sit third in the table, the manager’s amazing performance to have a better record at this point than that Bielsa club is something they will be trying to build on this season.
With the pressure of expectation on his shoulders and the admiration for the prior manager, Jesse Marsch has already discussed how challenging it was to succeed Bielsa at Elland Road. However, enough time has passed for Farke to be his own man.
