Leeds boss Simon Grayson says managers can’t be blamed for the types of mistakes which saw the Blues gift his side a 3-1 victory at Elland Road on Saturday. A catalogue of disastrous decisions saw former Whites loanee keeper Alex McCarthy sent off and Town concede three goals having been ahead and on course for a long overdue return to winning ways.

Grayson says bosses can’t be blamed for the sort of mistakes made by the Town side on Saturday: “As a manager stood there on the touchline, you don’t send your players out to pass to one of our players in the 18-yard box or experienced players to make fundamental mistakes.

“These things happen in football, they are human beings and not robots. They make bad decisions at times.

“They won’t be the first bad decisions any of Paul's players make and it certainly won’t be the last time that my players make bad decisions as well.”

The former defender, who played under Paul Jewell when on loan at Bradford late in his career, thought there were similarities with the match between the teams earlier in the season when Aidan White was dismissed just after half-time for pulling down Jay Emmanuel-Thomas when he was through on goal: “It mirrored the match at Portman Road a little bit where we played really well and lost the game.”

Grayson,recently reported to be under pressure at Leeds, had praise for Blues owner Marcus Evans for trying to take the heat off Jewell with his recent programme piece: “It’s a precarious industry and full credit to the owner at Ipswich for backing Paul all the way, and rightly so because he’s a good manager and he’s got a good record of achieving things in the game.

“We’re all under pressure at times because it’s a ruthless industry but all you have to do as an individual is to work extremely hard and keep believing in what you do, and it will come true.

“That’s all I keep doing. If everybody else wants to put me under pressure, well so be it. I don’t feel any pressure because I know what I’m doing is as much as I can do to make this team successful, and I’ll keep doing that until someone tells me I won’t.”

Photo: Action Images

wrightyblue added 09:25 - Jan 23 Buy decent players would be a good start!
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blueblood66 added 09:25 - Jan 23 The buck stops with the manager, in any failing business.
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cornishnick added 09:27 - Jan 23 I would agree if it happened only every now and then. But when it happens regularly, every game, I'm sorry the manager and coaching staff must take some of the blame. Something obviously is getting through on the training pitch
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deliadreamsofitfc added 09:30 - Jan 23 The manager makes a poor defender the captain, after he makes a poor midfielder the captain. Makes you wonder if he knows what he is doing Mr Grayson!
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walberswick added 09:36 - Jan 23 The manager can be blamed if he doesn't learn from his mistakes and his side are letting in more than 2 goals a game. (13 in last 5 games). Get a coach who can get them to defend, you can't.
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nitroblue1970 added 09:38 - Jan 23 Happens far too often, who is supposed to be instructing and coaching these players?
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irishtim added 09:39 - Jan 23 Same mistakes evert week = poor management
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bluelady added 09:40 - Jan 23 i agree with you on this one Grayson whole heartidly. Trouble is it happens EVERY WEEK for us, not on the odd occaision that you can brush off and say ok poor day at the office!
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newboy added 09:40 - Jan 23 Its easy for these managers to back PJ when they keep coming out on top Holloway did the same however his failings are evident every week and even if we manage to stay up you can guarentee PR will be bordering empty next season if PJ is still in charge
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Paulc added 09:40 - Jan 23 Butt out Grayson, you're making these comments on the basis of the one game you've seen. this has happened time and time again. For that you absolutely CAN and SHOULD blame the manager, aspecially when he's as useless as PJ.
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Rossm added 09:47 - Jan 23 Sonko is Terrible! Needs replacing before anyone else IMO. Makes at least one Glaring mistake every game... and recently seems to be getting punished for it, or rather we are. Tommy Smith was a class above him on Saturday!
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Tractorog added 09:56 - Jan 23 I think the record shows who is making the bad decisions. I want PJ to succeed, I really do, but how long does he need to sort out our defence? There comes a point when "has not yet" becomes "can't" fix it and I think that point has been passed. The club is in crisis. Players like St Ledger look at the manager and won't come here because they are not sure he will still be in his job come the end of the season. I'm afraid when that happens a manager is doomed. We certainly will be doomed if no one new joins this week. Something must lift the atmosphere and be a cause for hope.

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WhoisJimmyJuan added 09:57 - Jan 23 Sadly the real headline is "The fans can't do much about manager's poor decisions". And that applies to Jewell,Clegg and Evans.
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MintyHalfWit added 10:06 - Jan 23 These consoling comments from a manager under pressure, who has just been chucked a 3 point lifeline. Holloway was effusive too. And the Forest man. All of them took easy points from Jewell's misfits, so it's pretty obvious they want him to carry on plying his pathetic trade. Town will stay up and these managers want similar easy points next year. Words are cheap.

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jas0999 added 10:26 - Jan 23 No, but they can address them. Work on these issues on the training ground, or better still ensure they have the personnel at the club to ensure it doesn't happen EVERY GAME. PJ has had since May to sort the defence out - sorry Jewell fans, but he has failed. 23 January and still no new arrivals. PJ OUT!
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UsualSuspect added 10:27 - Jan 23 Yes they can Mr Grayson! They can get rid of the players who constantly let us fans down week after week and bring in replacements.
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CornardBlue added 10:29 - Jan 23 Facts are we have been making the same mistakes for 5 seasons not just this one, although it gets worse by the week. Grayson wants to watch the crap we have to put up with every game, Leeds supporters would have got him the sack months ago.
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WorcesterBlue added 10:39 - Jan 23 Actually yes they can Mr Grayson: 1. Coach and improve them 2. Buy players who are up to the task 3. Have competition for places so that people perform to a high level. Sonko has not become bad overnight!
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dirtydingusmagee added 10:52 - Jan 23 It happens every bloody week, so it lays as much with manager as players.Thanks for the obligatory aftermath sympathy vote Simon .
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26_Paz added 11:01 - Jan 23 Er ... yes he can. The manager selects the side, if people keep making such comical (not really the right word) errors then the manager should replace them. This is assuming that he has done his job properly and has decent back ups / replacements, which, of course Jewell hasn't therefore he has no choice other than to keep playing the clowns. For this reason our current predicament is entirely his fault.

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 11:18 - Jan 23 At the risk of getting some stick on here I do think an awful lot of you are making a lot of assumptions. Yes we all know that we urgently need centre backs. In my opinion , two of them plus a keeper and right back. But is it Jewell at fault? Maybe. However we have been linked with pretty much every centre back that becomes available since the summer. Woodgate, upson, shotton, bramble, Collins, st ledger, plus many more. So why aren't they coming? Well i dont know , but neither do any if you blaming Jewell. It could be him but I recall keane and magilton saying it was hard to get players to come here. From previous quotes it would appear that when we sign players Jewell identifies them and tells clegg and Evans, who then do the deals. My point is that Jewell has been trying to sign defenders since the summer but the majority of people seem to be blaming him when we don't really know why they haven't been coming. He signed cresswell remember and no one can deny that's been a great deal and I think Jewell knew from the start that Sonko was only a stop gap and that's why he wasn't in a great rush to sign him . It's easy to blame Jewell but unless any of you actually work at the club and can fill us in I think maybe some of you are making statements that you can't really back up.

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26_Paz added 11:30 - Jan 23 I do not think it is unreasonable to blame the manager for the fact that the vast majority of the players that have been signed during his time in charge are not ver good.
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 11:41 - Jan 23 26_paz. That's a different conversation and not the point I was making but in answer to it did he sign ALB, delaney, smith,or Edwards? Agreed, ingarmarsson was poor, but cresswell more than cancels that out and as previously stated I think Sonko is only a stop gap, who until recently had been v good and Collins was great but for family reasons wouldn't sign.

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26_Paz added 11:44 - Jan 23 You can't seriously be suggesting that PJ has done well in the transfer market can you?
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thechangingman added 11:45 - Jan 23 If this game were a one-off then of course I'd agree with Grayson's sentiments. We're talking about a WHOLE SEASON (and then some!!!) Also, what a surprise that another manager says that managers aren't to blame. These guys make me laugh. They couldn't care less about the particular club they're currently taking the HUGE wages from and keep trying to cover their fault with excuses. Boring. Do your job - cut the chat and if you're not up to it, do the decent thing and walk away. Yes, I know I am in 'dream land' - "do the decent thing..." I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's gonna get a LOT worse before it gets any better... :(

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