L1: Yeovil 1 Leeds United 2

Apologies for the lack of the usual post match review following the Leeds game, real life sometimes gets in the way of blogging! It's been a few days now since the match, so I don't propose to do my usual thing of awarding merit marks etc etc, I'll content myself with a few general remarks about the game.

We showed Leeds far too much respect. Right from the start and that impromptu minute's silence (organised spontaneously by the players apparently), following on from a negative team selection designed to try and stifle Leeds rather than express our own attacking prowess; our entire approach was one of deference to the big club. Instead of taking the game to Leeds we were content to sit back and fill in, not take too many chances, to keep things tight and narrow, to take the width out of the game. As a game plan it was all very well and it might even have worked had we been able to do the basics, like defend competently from set-pieces, but we failed on that test.

The shame of it all was that when we finally did introduce some width in the shape of Andy Welsh and began to take the game to Leeds in the final quarter of the match we did look a much better side and despite being outplayed for most of the game could easily have got something from it in the end. But we didn't deserve anything. To win you've got to attack and be positive, for too much of the game we were defensive and negative.

Good games: Alex McCarthy - kept the score down to reasonable proportions with some terrific saves. Andy Welsh - added width and pace going forward, good crosses. JP Kalala - tigerish prescence in midfield.

Bad games: Steven Caulker - lost his man twice at set-pieces which led directly to the Leeds goals. Scott Davies - played out of position on the right side of midfield and it showed. The third time I've seen him play now and I still haven't seem do anything positive of note.

Good and bad: Craig Alcock - some cracking last-ditch clearances, but lost his man too often at set-pieces. Terrell Forbes - generally sound defensively, should have scored himself. Nathan Smith - anonymous until Welsh came on, then started getting forward well. Gavin Tomlin - our only (vague) threat in the first half, faded as the game went on. Unlucky not to score with a header cleared off the line. Gavin Williams - peripheral until pushed forward in the second half when he began to show his class. Dean Bowditch - took his goal well, hardly noticed him otherwise. Shaun MacDonald - played out of position on the left for most of the game, and it showed. Much more effective when shifted into centre midfield later on.

I said before the Leeds game that I hoped we would give it a go against one of the best teams in the division and give the tv cameras a real show. We did just that, but only for the last 20 minutes. If only we had shown that same positive attacking intent right from the start! We may not have done any better than we actually did, but at least we wouldn't have died wondering. I've resisted the temptation to criticise Skivo all season right up until now, but on Monday in my humble opinion he got both his tactics and team selection wrong, and then was too slow to change things for the better. Let's hope he learns from those mistakes. Three weeks ago we were 11 points away from the relegation zone and looking comfortable. Now we're 4 points away and on a downward spiral. Make no mistake, a loss this weekend at Stockport could be disastrous. A draw will be disappointing. Let's go for the win, let them worry about what we're going to do, not vice versa. Attack, attack, attack attack attack!

The bookies make the Glovers favourites for the win at 7/5. The draw is priced at 23/10 amd the Stockport win at 19/10. Anything other than an away win is unthinkable, and that's what my fiver is going on. Running total: +£6.88p

Away from the football and the club have announced their season ticket/matchday prices for next season and the good news is that there's to be no increase. In fact there's no change of any kind, so the bad news is there's still a surcharge for those who can't buy their tickets until the day of the match. The club insists it's not a surcharge, the matchday price is in fact the normal price. They say people who buy in advance of the matchday receive a discount on the normal price. I have news for the club: People aren't stupid, if it looks like a pig, smells like a pig and squeals like a pig then it's more than likely a pig. I know plenty of people who can't buy in advance for one reason or another but who refuse to pay the £2 extra on the day, asking why should they be penalised just because they can't commit themselves in advance through no fault of their own? So they and the club miss out. If there's one thing I would change about the club's ticketing policy to make it more equitable for all fans it would be this: Lose the surcharge!

Finally, a thought for former Glover and current Exeter striker Adam Stansfield, who has just been diagnosed with bowel cancer, though the prognosis is apparently good. Get well soon Lisa!

Just read: Amazulu by Walton Golightly. Fascinating semi-fictionalised account of the life and times of Shaka, King of the Zulus in 19th century Africa; from his lowly beginnings as a bullied child to his eventual emergence as the Father of the Zulu Nation and his descent into murderous purges of his own people. Gripping throughout but the ambiguous ending is unsatisfactory - read it and you'll know what I mean, but don't let it put you off the rest of the book.