Graham Smyth on Archie Gray's performance at Chelsea

YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth on Archie Gray's Man of the Match display at Chelsea

Transcript

00:00 You know what it reminds me of a little bit?

00:02 When Bielsa's Leeds went to Arsenal and lost 1-0 and probably should have won that game

00:07 and it was in the FA Cup, just like this.

00:11 Melie played and was a bit of a revelation actually.

00:14 I'm just remembering pinging balls out to the full backs with pinpoint accuracy.

00:20 And it was like a national awakening to bloody hell, Leeds are a bit good, aren't they?

00:24 Aren't Leeds fun?

00:25 It was the same narrow, undeserved score and defeat.

00:30 But this time it wasn't Melie that was the revelation, it was Archie Gray.

00:34 And I think Leeds showed quite significantly just how fun they can be to watch and how good they can be.

00:42 If I was going to rank the positives, I would say Archie Gray in midfield,

00:49 looking like he absolutely belongs, would be probably number one.

00:54 All those little things he did in the first half that I really liked were on both sides of the ball.

00:59 So he forces the mistake, doesn't he, for the goal?

01:03 You know, he senses a bit of hesitation or slow play or whatever from Chelsea as they play out from a goal kick.

01:09 Slides in, forces the ball to Anthony and then suddenly Joseph's got it into the back of the net.

01:14 He knocked the ball over the head of a very expensive man and collected it on the far side.

01:20 It was his ball retention, I think, that caught the eye the most, just the way he kept the ball moving for Leeds

01:27 and didn't really look like losing it too often.

01:30 But then the second half, I mean, there was no debate by full time, was there?

01:36 Because the way he played in that second half, the dribble down by the touchline,

01:41 where he took it away from one, a little bit of a step over, and then he's away from two into space, was excellent.

01:48 There was a couple of tackles when he recovered the ball, one where Chelsea were breaking.

01:55 And it was just, it was very, very composed.

01:58 He looked after the ball really well in tight spaces against players who should be far better than him,

02:04 given their experience, given the level they've played at, given the amount of money spent on them.

02:09 And yet he never once looked out of place, did he?