Bielsa has manufactured Cooper to do the basics well, and as long as he doesn't have to step outside his comfort zone, he'll be steady.
Serves him right. Hopefully he'll learn from it. Personally, I'm still not convinced he's going to make it with us. He'll certainly progress, but I fear we may have someone else who might go down the Clarke route. It took him most of last season to manage any kind of consistency, and there a few Clarkish 'made it' moments - although mainly at the beginning of last seasons, tbh. This genuinely might be the making of him. Might give him one helluva shake. Might also have Bielsa kicking him out the door too, tbh.
Very good post WJ and you're 100% correct, no one knows how much improvement there is still to come. Milky was also correct in his analysis earlier in that it's his decision making under pressure which is questionable It will take long time for me to forget how he failed to cope during the heat of battle against Derby and I guess we won't really see if he's improved in that area until it's another do or die match. Look at the tackle in pre season against the scum in Australia as an example of how his cranial nerve flatulence has still to be eradicated from his game. To be fair though he has started the season well and having Ben White along side can only be an advantage given his extra quality on the ball and speed on the cover.
Just read the article on Stevens ban. It's draconian. "As a club we feel that banning a 19-year-old footballer from even participating in training or interacting with the club's staff is an excessive punishment." That'll set him back months! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49649447
His defence is that hes away from home and bored and has anxiety attacks. He did it to pass time and hardly gambled big money. Hes a kid, alone, but was guilty and knew the rules so some form of punishment needed. However 6 weeks away from the club and no contract with anyone is about as harsh as any player has ever had and a kid with mental health issues makes the EFL look shabby. The dine was almost as much as Milwall got for racial hatred. So anyone who says Leeds dont get singled out by the EFL are talking crap. Last seasons £200k for breaking no rules is much more than every fine given out combined for match fixing, racial hatred, H&S problems, crowd control issues.....
Pretty sure the rules broken were under the FA's jurisdiction, so the punishment was handed down by them not the EFL. They do seem to take it turns though to treat us unfairly...although I have to say on this occasion it's the player that is treated extremely harshly given the circumstances of his difficulties, any inconvenience to the club is secondary. A match ban only would surely have been sufficient, allowing him to still train and be around his working environment.
Also... This is one of those occasions where he needs the full support of the club. Not sure what form that would take as obviously he has done wrong and a punishment is merited. Perhaps a small contract extension to show that we still have faith and believe in him ? Difficult one, but we definitely need to take care of the young man, not only because he's a talent but because it's our duty of care not just to him but all players, parents and family out there. Think most of us are aware Gary Speed would have been 50 this week so don't think I really need to say any more.
The club should support him in anyway possible, with all the force they can bring against the FA. Both the FA and the EFL are and have been getting away with murder with regards to LU it's time they were taken to task. Over to you Mr Radrizzani
Doc if you are going to bring the Millwall fine into it please get it right, it was not as you say racial hatred, it was deemed to be racist language by a handful of idiots who tried to get the chant going which never took off and faded away, it only came to light because some idiot posted it on social media, as well as the fine there is demands that Millwall fc do more than they already do for local community projects. The song in question would had been more offensive to any racist scousers than to our ethnic friends.
Question: How can the club support him when they are not allowed to be in contact with him? Are they even allowed to suggest the name of a counsellor? What ridiculous length does this ban reach to? Will the club be deducted points if he turns up to watch his mates in the u23s? Silly question for most clubs, but for us? I've never heard of a ban like this, ever. Shocking. Being so young adds another exponential level to it, and as has been mentioned, he clearly has mental health issues which takes it to the highest level of neglect possible for the FA to sink to. I hope the club smash the FA publicly for this neglect & call on every mental health charity they can lay their hands on to humiliate the FA. If they had just administered a straightforward playing ban, but oh no, this is a vicious attack on the club.
This Kosovo team have played some great stuff. I’ve unpatriotically found myself cheering for them at times love a good underdog
I think the real clincher was that he bet on Leeds matches, at least he bet on us to win by two clear goals, clearly never got to train with Kiko
WJ. He is banned from all 'football related activity' so I'm sure the club can contact from a welfare point of view or help with counselling for him being away from home (unless he goes home for the six weeks) or help him to stop gambling. Presume they will set him up with a fitness programme at a gym unconnected to the club. Kinnear has already suggested we'll support him through this.
Hope you’re right Jock, and his performance for Scotland definitely reflects the impact of the Bielsa ethos in my opinion. For NI Stuart Dallas, once the general whipping boy for the short-sighted, was MOM - as was young Alfie McCalmont on Thursday. Then there’s Nketiah and Clarke knocking them in for England. Don’t know how Klich and Alioski fared, but there’s a pattern here, and I’m sure the wider footballing community will be taking notice. If nothing else, it will make Bielsa’s Leeds a more attractive destination for any player who wants to fulfil their potential and take their career to the next level, whether in the Championship in January or the Premier League in June. It’s a great time to be a Leeds fan.
That was my interpretation of 'not permitted to interact with the club's staff'. So my point - and questions - remain standing, imo. Detail is not stated, hence my question re. u23 attendance, counsellors etc. Are you sure they're even allowed to set him up with a fitness program - does that not require interaction? The connection to the club doesn't matter unless he organised it himself. If the club organise it, it's still interaction. And before you start accusing me of being pedantic (which I am), there is no more pedantic organisation in the world than the FA - when it suits them. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a disproportionate sentence, used as an assault on our club. A timely 'just in case you forgot who has all the power' marker thrown down to Radz.
The more I think about the Stevens ban the more I think this contravenes his basic human rights, matter should be taken further, a lot further. Question for those ITK do we know who actually instigated this ban ie the individuals concerned
With the Stevens ban 59 bets(five that involved Leeds) totalling £510.12 that amounts to less than a tenner a bet, even if he was betting up to 100 quid on the Leeds games I don't think he stood to make much of a killing as the highest price on a Leeds win was no more than 2/1 last season, he was betting like a fan of the team would rather than someone with 'inside knowledge'. I would be interested to know whether Jockeys and Trainers in horse racing are banned from betting on horses especially their own? The punishment is excessive and harsh in the extreme, he was hardly bribing players/officials to throw games for some far east betting scam was he?
