FOUR-GOAL LEON LEAVES THE TIGERS IN TATTERS
Slutsky’s nightmare run goes on
HAUNTED Hull boss Leonid Slutsky admitted he has “no answers” to his team’s problems after the toothless Tigers were blown away by a Leon Clarke masterclass.
The veteran Blades striker scored four second-half goals as the visitors disintegrated in drastic fashion.
Clarke was magnificent, turning in the performance of a lifetime at the grand old age of 32 to send a rampant Sheffield United back into the top two.
But while Clarke’s heroics were a joy to behold, Slutsky’s emotional, dejected post-match performance was car-crash viewing as the Russian laid bare the wreckage of a season that has yielded just four wins in 17 games.
“It is very bad. Terrible,” said Slutsky, whose side led through Kamil Grosicky’s thunderbolt only to down tools the moment United equalised.
“We were completely broken after the first goal. It was like a mannequin show, and it is not the first time. Every game, it is like two completely different teams before and after we concede.
“We changed system, we changed formation. We have spoken about the situation. But, really, we don’t have a strong mentality and we don’t have a strong team spirit. We don’t have
team targets – it is more like individual targets.
“Right now, I have a lot of questions in my head but I don’t have answers. I will try because I am the coach.
“It is easy to change the physical condition of a player. To train the brain is more difficult. It is the first situation in my career like this.”
Slutsky’s words were shockingly frank, but that should not detract from the accuracy of his assessment.
For the first 45 minutes, Hull were disciplined, organised and effective, nullifying United’s counter-attacks and taking the lead through a swirling, longrange exocet from Poland international Grosicki.
For the second, they were a static, error-strewn shambles. Thrice kept in the game by the reactions of Allan McGregor, Clarke’s first – a deft near-post finish from Cameron CarterVickers’ cross – opened the floodgates.
Runners went untracked. Grosicki vanished. A youthful defence wobbled, then collapsed. Yes, it was 77 minutes before Clarke scooped Mark Duffy’s through ball over McGregor, but the previous 20 had been one-way traffic.
Number three arrived when Billy Sharp – proving the old adage that strikers deliver the best crosses – landed a beautiful ball plumb on Clarke’s forehead.
And the striker had barely celebrated bagging the match ball when he swept a left-footed finish past McGregor to make it four.
Truth be told, he could have had six, so dominant were United and so benevolent their opponents. “Leon was excellent, but all the players were outstanding,” said Chris Wilder, whose side responded to a midweek defeat at QPR by coming back to win for the first time this season.
“Tuesday night, we were fives, sixes and sevens. Today we were sevens, eights and nines. And Leon, maybe a little bit more. He was outstanding and he has been all season.
“But that goes down to the chances we create, the belief in our system and our way of playing football. There’s no arrogant players here. The chemistry between the players is key and they all enjoy playing here. We created chances all afternoon.”
By the end, Bramall Lane was rocking, Hull a ragged mess. At one stage, Blades fans were even giving it the Oles, taunting opponents who last year played in the Premier League.
Insult was added to injury when striker Fraizer Campbell picked up a fifth booking of the season – not that Slutsky cared.
“He will miss a game because of that,” said the Russian. “But we have more serious problems than the suspension of one player.”