Morning Leeds-in for 12 February: Heckingbottom needs to use different wingers

The formation changed, but the result was the same.

Lee Sobot of the Yorkshire Evening Post looked at some of the talking points after Saturday’s loss at Bramall Lane. New Leeds head coach Paul Heckingbottom changed the formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a more defensive 4-1-4-1 against Sheffield United, but the team looked toothless on the attack until Pablo Hernandez was introduced just before half-time with Kemar Roofe going down.

With his first match under his belt, it will be interesting to see how Heckingbottom adjusts the team for the visit of Bristol City next weekend. The winger will be forced to be the creative forces in the lineup with the removal of a number 10 attacking midfielder, and so while neither Hernandez or Saiz are exactly “wingers,” both might have to be shifted to the wing if Heckingbottom is committed to a three man central midfield.

On to the links.

Leeds United Links

Heckingbottom would like to eliminate the “fear factor” for the Leeds players. [Yorkshire Evening Post]

New Leeds midfielder Adam Forshaw thinks that their are plenty of points to play for and discounts the idea that the playoffs are out of reach. [Leeds United.com]

England and English Football Links

Aston Villa beat their bitter rivals Birmingham City 2-0 to go into the automatic promotion places in the Championship. [7500 To Holte]

Newcastle United shocked Manchester United with a 1-0 win at St James’ Park. [Coming Home Newcastle]

Garforth Town beat Worksop Town 3-2 in local non-League action. [Through It All Together]

Popular former Leeds manager Simon Grayson was named boss of Bradford City yesterday. He was sacked earlier in the season by Sunderland. [BBC.com]

World Football Links

Ander Herrera has been linked with a possible move to AC Milan. Here’s why the Spaniard would fit in at Milan. [AC Milan Offside]

Two of the top teams in Mexico, Tigres UANL and Club América, played to a 1-1 draw that featured a missed penalty, a converted penalty, and a disallowed goal for Club América. It was also notable because the two goals scorers, Jérémy Ménez for Club América and André-Pierre Gignac for Tigres are both French. [FMF State of Mind]

Barcelona was held to a 0-0 draw at home by Getafe. Yesterday’s match was the first time all season that Barcelona had failed to score. [Barca Blaugranes]