Good Morning. It's Friday 13th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Money issues at Elland Road 'LUFCFANZONE' have disclosed on their social media site the reason why the Whites have had a slow Summer in the transfer market. They have spent just shy of 25m on Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo and to a lessor degree Lewis Bate. Although investing heavily on youngsters this Summer, many Leeds fans are annoyed that Bielsa's men are not pushing to the next level, now we know the reason why! In truth, having secured the services of a certain 66yo Argentine I feel satisfied that with the current squad, and with Bielsa at the helm you never quite know where this season will take us! please log in to view this image Crystal Palace attempting to hijack Lewis O'Brien deal as Leeds dither Crystal Palace have joined the race to sign Huddersfield ace Lewis O'Brien. According to sourcing at the John Smiths Stadium, they have turned down two offers for their 22yo starlet, the first believed to be in the region of 3m. Sources close to the player have made it clear that he wants to leave Huddersfield, and join Leeds! With a 10m price tag around his neck, how far will Leeds go to get their man? At what point should they draw a line in the sand and walk away? please log in to view this image Are Leeds paying for a 20m mistake Whilst Leeds continue to scout, and monitor potential talent to strengthen their squad, I can't help but feel angered at the way Leeds handled the Jean Kevin Augustin debacle. The Whites have an extensive scouting network stretching across Europe, yet they signed a player who had barely kicked a ball in six months, and had been on a steady decline for even longer. Those who know Bielsa will appreciate that he demands his players to be in elite physical form, something that anyone under his supervision will already know! Even if we had signed JKA on loan until the end of the season, it would have shown a grave error of judgement, but to agree to a 20m transfer o the proviso of promotion (which at the time was highly likely) is negligent beyond belief! The fact that Bielsa didn't want him anywhere near the pitch strongly suggests that the Argentine didn't want him at the club in the first place! He made just two cameo appearances for Nantes, who finished 18th in a very poor French league! What does that tell you? What would happen to one of us, if we made a 20m mistake? It looks as if we are paying for it now! please log in to view this image
Morning all, Anonymous twitter account says their anonymous source has told them that there is financial issues at one of the best run clubs in the league. Gonna call bull. Not worth the time it took me to read and respond. First tweet I saw this morning was from a Leeds fan, of the younger persuasion, asking whether the club should rename Elland Road the Marcelo Bielsa stadium. I'll admit I was sick into my cornflakes. A. Elland Road is Elland Road and should always stay that way. 2. Bielsa will be a legend forever in our history no doubt but does he deserve any kind of recognition like that before Howard Wilkinson? C. Renaming Thorp Arch after Bielsa was an idea raised by a number of replies. I refer you to my advice point, if Thorp arch is to be named after anymore surely its the Sarge. I mentioned that the tweeter was off the younger persuasion. Is the question he raised an example of the new generation of fan, the Premier league fan?
Morning all I think the problem with Augustin was the failure of the medical team. I believe Bielsa okayed the deal but when he arrived for training Bielsa thought WTF when he witnessed the physical state of him. 49ers put money in, extra cash for finishing higher than expected, extra cash as teams that got relegated came straight back up (saving parachute money) I find it had to believe we’re struggling financially
Morning all On the O’Brian fiasco I believe its a straightforward disagreement on valuation. The Doggies are greedy because everyone thinks you get big money from Prem clubs. Reality is that the kid is only 22yo and had one decent season in the Championship. Before that he was loaned out to L2, so a reality check needed. I believe Doggies are now getting what they wanted but because O’Brian has been forced into asking to leave. The transfer fee usually means the player getting a % which reduces the amount the club actually get. By him asking to leave it now means they get all the fee, so the bottleneck should be broken. The Palace link means that they and clubs like Everton, West Ham, Southampton etc are just copying what Bielsa does, thinking that if he sees something maybe we should have a look too. The Big Kev piece is total bollox and wherever Elland cut and pasted it from needs binning. I have written plenty on this issue so not willing to get into debate again, except for the fact that facts around the club and Bielsa are totally wrong. There is plenty of quotes from Bielsa and why he wanted JKA and even the fact that he said he was getting a great deal because he is really a £40m player. Interviews with Phil Hay Interview by Square Ball Fabrizio Romano quoting JKA and what Bielsa told him There are countless interviews and quotes from Price the medic, Orta, Radz, Kinnear, Bielsa in newspaper and on-line and with Graham Smyth and the usual suspects. All about the reasons why they went for Big Kev and what was expected
Agree with all of this. If the plan is to move the Academy to LS11 then yes name ithe Marcelo Bielsa Complex, but we dont own TA and even if we decide to buy it it should still be named after Wilko and Hart. Don Revie won everything with Leeds and still no ground named after him. Bielsa has won the Championship for Leeds. Brilliant in its own way and from where he took us from and I have no doubt if he was here long enough we would win the lot, but……
I hope he will rightfully go down in history as one of our legends. Despite what many think about him and I am aware of some of his shortcomings he is one of the longest serving players in many years. He has captained the club, at the players request, in an exceptional manner and has been captain on our return to the Premier league. For these reasons he should be remembered fondly and with respect in years to come.
Coops has never been my fav player but there is no doubt that good teams need work horses and people who do the ugly stuff. He has skippered the side with pride, dignity and plenty of class off the field in the many and varied charities he involves himself in. We have been lucky to have him
Morning all I remember the home game against Millwall a few years back where he got himself sent off for one of his jump lunges and I had to go to the concourse outside the cheese wedge because I was so angry (2-0 down to a bang average team and now 10 men). If Ben hadn't stayed in the ground I may well have left the game at half time for the first time in my life. Reluctantly came back in for the second half and saw 25-30 minutes of the most exciting football I have seen at ER for years. Unfortunately, Christianson ruined it with two defensive subs because Millwall were on their knees at that point and they regained the momentum and won with two late goals. In the Peacock afterwards I said to Ben, Cooper and Christianson have to go ..... oh, well, one out of two ain't bad!!! Personally, wouldn't want Cooper as a first choice but more than adequate as one of the four and deserves my eternal respect for everything he has done for us. On another note, spoke with Irish Del (huge Bhoys fan) this morning about the kid we have just signed from them and he was gutted because he says he is going to be fantastic very soon (watches all the Celtic TV nonsence etc) Finally, ref: Lang or O'Brien I think we just wait and see, it is just as likely a name no-one has ever heard of pops up last minute like Raph last year - let's hope Victor pulls out another belter.
This post may be a little too positive for some people's taste but I'm feeling very upbeat about the upcoming season. On the eve of our opening game realism is of course necessary but negativity is unwarranted imo. So on that basis, with a mix of positivity and realism, a draw tomorrow would be a cracking start. Top six finish for Leeds.
I agree We have to be positive. All this 2nd syndrome bullshyte talk means nothing to me. every team is different you are as good as you are. It has nothing to do with what other teams have done in the past or trends. same as match stats. say a team has not won at a certain ground for numerous years its called a bogey ground again to me it's bullshyte its all on the day if your good enough you win simple as that. nothing to do with they will find it hard to win there. I just hope we hold our own again even if we finish in the same position or one place above or below I'd take that now. it's all about establishing ourselves. Ofcourse I want us to better we all want a taste of Europe but there are 19 other teams wanting to do the same thing. honestly 1-12 of these teams still can't do it after many of a season cemented in the Prem. I'm just enjoying the ride while we have it back and the longer we are here the club can only grow and grow.
Man Utd squad worth trillions Leeds Utd squad worth hardly anything in the scheme of things. Man Utd will be top 4 without doubt and be in the Champions League. We need a bit of reality and just admit we are favs to lose and a draw would be a good result, but we could win and that would be brilliant. Our points need to come from anyone and everyone but mainly from everyone except top 4. No wrist slashing in other words
Remembering those who have passed A minute’s silence will be held ahead of the game to remember former players and fans of both clubs who have passed away since March 2020. Given the number of former players, family members and friends who have passed away in the last 18 months from both clubs, this will be an appropriate time to pause for a moment of reflection prior to the new season getting underway. Both sets of players will gather round the centre circle prior to kick-off for the minute of silence, with fans in attendance asked to pay their respects and join them as we remember those who are no longer with us. That will then be tarnished by the taking of the knee.
