Good Morning. It's Wednesday 10th November, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Is this Klich's last season at ER Its almost a year to the day since Marcelo Bielsa's fateful words “Klich, for me, can play in all the best teams in the world.” Wind the clock forward twelve months, and the 31yo's form has all but disappeared. There was a time that the Polish International was the first name down on the team sheet. He had started 91 out of 92 matches in a row (he was allowed a place on the bench v Derby on the day they won promotion) until his body demanded that he required a rest, and he hasn't really been the same player since. Should he be one of the first players to be replaced next Summer? Should Leeds keep him as a squad player thereafter? Who else will be heading out the ER exit door next Summer? please log in to view this image Gelhardt withdraws from England squad Joe Gelhardt has pulled out of the latest England Under-20s squad after picking up a knock in training last week. Although not considered serious, the 19yo was forced to miss last weekend's draw against Leicester, but is hoping to return for their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the 21st. Sam Greenwood and Lewis Bate will still fly the flag for the England U20's whilst Cody Drameh has been promoted to the England U21 squad. please log in to view this image Bridges recounts how he almost signed for Spurs instead of Leeds During a recent podcast, Former Leeds hero Michael Bridges has recounted how he almost joined Tottenham Hotspurs during the Summer of 99, but a terrifying encounter with Lord Suger had him running for the hills, and into the clutches of a grateful David O'Leary. Bridges, then 21, was hoping to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol Chris Waddle, and was expecting to pen a long term deal with the North London Club. Fortunately for Leeds, his encounter with Lord Suger soon extinguished his desire to go to Spurs; a good thing too - He went on to score 19 goals for the Whites the following season. Had he not suffered the near career ending injury, away at Besiktas, he surely would have legendary status amongst the Leeds faithful! "Tottenham had agreed a fee with Sunderland, I got a phone call to say 'get yourself down to Spurs', and I was on my way," "You know Lord Alan Sugar, he killed it. George Graham was the manager at the time and David Pleat was the assistant and chief scout there and he'd been with me at the 21s with England, so Pleaty I knew. "I said 'you don't need to sell me anything, I'm here to sign, I can't believe I'm coming to Tottenham Hotspur it's a childhood dream of mine.'""Then all of a sudden this blue Rolls Royce pulled up outside and he said, 'Oh, here's Lord Sugar, he's come to say hi and welcome to the club', and I kid you not, I'll give you the thirty seconds I got off Alan Sugar while I was sat there with my agent, in London, scared stiff by the way. "He said: 'Young man, nice to meet you I've never heard of you before, I've heard you're a Sunderland reserve player, I'm putting all my faith in these two lads [Graham and Pleat] here who say I've got to pay this kind of money for you. I think it's ridiculous because you don't get much for your money, because you don't look like you could lift a paperweight. "And by the way, you're not getting the money your agent thinks he's getting, you've got to earn that - take care, good luck." "I looked at my agent as [if] to say: 'Get me the hell out of here, that's it done'. As Sugar left, George Graham apologised. "I said: 'I don't care I'm gone.' "I'm driving back up to Sunderland and I remember my agent rang Peter Reid and he said: 'Reidy, listen the deal's fallen through'. "As we were about an hour away from Leeds coming up, Peter Reid rang back and said 'stop off at Elland Road, we've done a deal with Leeds United, they've matched the bid of Tottenham and see if you can get the deal done because I've got two players, I've already signed them, I need this to go through'" "It was completely different, I was met at the gates by David O'Leary and Peter Ridsdale, I was shown around the stadium, I was shown around the training ground and a lot of the players were there introducing themselves as well. Something just felt right. "I'm a big believer in fate and that's how it turned out. I turned down my boyhood team because of Lord Sugar the dream-killer and signed for a team who fulfilled all my dreams and played in Europe." please log in to view this image
Morning all, I've talked plenty about Klich previously so not wanting to risk being accused of picking on him all I'll say is in my opinion yes his time is up and now he's had a couple of seasons in the prem he should be looking to see out his career in a lesser League abroad, back to Holland probably. Nothing against him and he will always be one of the promotion heroes and will always be welcome but his time has come. Bridges is one of the most frustrating stories in Leeds history. If he had managed to stay fit I think he would have been the best striker at the club, even ahead of Viduka and it takes a lot for me to say that. I was at the Martimo game when he suffered the injury that effectively ended his career at the top level and watching him be carried around the pitch on a stretcher was just awful.
Someone on twatter has quote tweeted the cubs official announcement from when we signed Struijk back in 2018. It is hilarious the replies from fans. They are all along the lines of "who cares" "looks ****" "if he were any good Ajax wouldn't be letting him go". I know we can all be wrong some times but it is a great representation of knee jerk reactions and why people should put a little more thought into what they think and say.
Klich is having a mare this season so wonder if its age, fitness because remember he had a hip problem that stopped him playing his 92nd consecutive match, he hasnt really come back to full form since that. Or is it down to what Bielsa wants him to do now compared to what he was asked to do when doing a top job. Is it the personell in the middle he is struggling with as no more Pablo and we know Pablo was missing for most of last season. But has played with no real settled midfield unit? At the moment I dont know but he could be nearing his end at Leeds?
Klich and Foreshaw are different players with different styles and attributes, but largely they do the same job, linking attack and defence... the glue of the team. Klich certainly makes more attacking runs behind the defence creating space for others, but he also always comes deep to play triangles and build play. There’s a reason he was pretty much ever-present under bielsa for so long and I’d say it was because of the yards he covered in and out of possession at both ends of the pitch. Not everyone widely appreciated him, but we always looked a worse team when he didn’t play or if we took him off. I saw some stats in the first quarter of last season and he was statistically the league's best all round midfielder. For periods of last season though, after a brilliant start and so far this, he’s just not been at his best - and that’s been a part of our problem, albeit Phillips missing certainly exacerbated it. Klich is 31 now, and he’s been flogged like a horse by bielsa… Could be he just doesn’t have the legs any more… or maybe something else is going on behind the scenes.
The one thing I learned about Klich is that football doesnt rule his life. He wants to go back to Poland and end his career as thats where his family are and he misses his mum and dad. He prefers basketball to soccer he loves graffiti art and spends money on a sports gym/court type complex in his home town where kids can learn ball games and skate boarding/BMX and the place is adorned with graffiti from some top Polish kids. We dont know if its age, injury or family issues back home, but hes a legend in his home town? A bery nice, uncomplicated bloke and not like the normal pro footballer
good on him, when he does go, leeds fans should be forever grateful to him. Always bust a gut, criminally under-rated by many and pretty much an ever-present in the side that won promotion and established itself in the premier league playing great, exciting football.
After more than 700 days without playing a league match, this is why Leeds missed Forshaw please log in to view this image By Phil Hay 7h ago With Adam Forshaw safely through his first league start in more than two years, Marcelo Bielsa was willing to say what others at Leeds United had been thinking. “I seriously had doubts,” Bielsa said. “I really didn’t think he would be able to do this.” And that was the truth. Forshaw gritted his teeth through operation after operation, helped by a medical team who told him what he needed to hear, but there were times when chronic uncertainty crept in. The injury affecting his groin and hip was unusual. It was also depressingly persistent. No one could be sure what the end result would be. Major surgery led to the niggles and strains that follow a prolonged absence from football and the early weeks of this season were no different. But on Sunday, at home to Leicester City, Forshaw was able to prove not only that he was through the worst but that almost 700 days without a first-team game had not created a gulf between him and the levels required in the Premier League. More than four years had passed since his last appearance in the division but he coped as if he had never been away. The sight of Forshaw in fine fettle, and the sound of the acclaim he received after the 1-1 draw, was a reminder that, in Bielsa’s first pre-season three and a half years ago, he was more enamoured with him than any other player in the Leeds squad, impressed by the simplicity of his play and his intelligence in managing possession and space. Bielsa has been heard to say privately that Forshaw at his best would suit a Champions League side with his passing and industry. For now, Forshaw might be what the Argentinian requires to properly nip Leeds’ difficult start to this season in the bud. A fit Forshaw has long been seen as the most suitable stand-in for Kalvin Phillips in Bielsa’s defensive midfield role but the coach’s idea was always to use him further up the pitch, as the link between Phillips and whoever was playing as the No 10 (nominally, since Leeds under Bielsa have not often carried an out-and-out No 10 in their line-up). But as Sunday showed, Forshaw’s positioning brings him closer to Phillips, providing more support for the England international and more presence in the centre of midfield. Leeds set up in a 4-1-4-1 system against Leicester but their average-positions map for the game creates something closer to a 2-4-4, with Forshaw (No 4) and Phillips (No 23) virtually side by side in the centre circle. please log in to view this image In a season where Leeds have suffered from weakness in their midfield, it stands to reason that the inclusion of Forshaw and his proximity to Phillips would have the effect of shoring that area up. It is also easy to understand why that stable base on halfway led to concerted dominance against Leicester, with almost 20 chances created and an xG of 1.21 — Leeds’ fourth-highest of the season. Sunday was a little like teleporting back to the Championship days when Leeds would have their way for 90 minutes without punishing teams as heavily as they should. One of the biggest questions for Forshaw at kick-off was how he would find the pace and the intensity of the Premier League, a competition where the ball can transition at the speed of light. It was liable to put strain on his body and potentially find him out, at least in his comeback period. Leicester were a perfect examination for him, because counter-attacks and midfielders spinning into space are two of the weapons Brendan Rodgers uses to cut teams open. Forshaw was under pressure to track players early on and, after being caught out a couple of times, soon figured out what Leicester were trying to do. In this next instance, they pull him out to the right wing and then play inside to give Youri Tielemans the freedom of the pitch to surge forward. This was how Rodgers wanted to manipulate Leeds: please log in to view this image please log in to view this image There were other attempts to leave Forshaw trailing too, although he was largely wise to the tactic of opponents running off him. Leicester created a good chance for Tielemans in the opening exchanges, a chance he scooped over the crossbar, by breaking the lines and driving at Leeds’ box… please log in to view this image …but in other moments, like the situation shown next, Forshaw was alert enough to track the bursts of players such as Boubakary Soumare and make sure that, had Leicester provided a better cross to the back post, Soumare was marked and unable to make much of it. Defensively, Forshaw covered a lot of the field and was an asset chasing back, with strong enough fitness levels to see him through 89 minutes before he was substituted. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Where he really shone, though, was in possession, and he did so in ways that could easily go unnoticed. Forshaw has a good touch and can disguise a pass cleverly but there is nothing flash about his game. This simplicity equated to quality against Leicester. Most of his passing is short and uncomplicated, but in a positive sense. It is quick in a way that sets a tempo. He rarely dithers on the ball and he is constantly looking for the next pass, coming short, giving and going and making himself available again. The effect of this on Sunday was to keep Leeds in attacking positions and maintain the heat on Leicester. Bielsa’s team have lacked that relentlessness in the first three months of the season, too often at arm’s length from goal, but they enjoyed camping on top of Rodgers’ FA Cup holders. One thing which stood out about Forshaw’s performance was how close he stayed to the ball throughout, forever in the vicinity of it. There are countless examples of him being on hand to either recover possession and get Leeds back on the ball or to progress an attack. Alongside Phillips, he shared the responsibility for pulling the strings, easing his team-mates’ workload. Even when Leicester pressed, Phillips (seen below) could rely on Forshaw to provide an outlet and turn a defensive position into an attacking one, as he does by spreading play to Raphinha’s wing. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Leeds were able to count on Forshaw doing this in every part of the pitch. In the following sequence, he pops up to collect a clearance from Leeds’ penalty area and break into the space ahead of him. An inside pass to Rodrigo lets the forward attack an open area down the right, with full-back Stuart Dallas right beside him and sprinting forward too. Leicester are in danger and their midfielders are seen scrambling across the pitch to try to plug the gaps. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Under Bielsa, Leeds have always been reliant on width and use the full breadth of the pitch to prise the opposition open. Forshaw’s interplay had a major effect in providing them with possession on the flanks but, more importantly, quality possession on the flanks. It was probably not a coincidence that the team’s overlapping and underlapping (two hallmarks of Bielsa’s style) were suddenly more eye-catching and regular, better than any previous match this term and much more like Leeds at their best. The next screengrabs are from much later in the game, with Leeds pressing for a winning goal. Forshaw comes short and asks for the ball from Liam Cooper, who is in the middle of a high defensive line. This movement tells left-back Pascal Struijk to advance and look for a pass around the corner. Forshaw provides it, and Struijk is free to push on. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Even in scrappy moments, Forshaw’s capacity to step on the ball and make something happen was influential. Midway through the second half, Dan James is brought down by a fair tackle near halfway. Forshaw anticipates it, steps up and dinks a lovely chip into the path of Jack Harrison, who has all the space he could ask for. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
On another occasion, a simple touch and pass to Phillips from a Dallas throw-in deep in their own half puts Leeds over halfway in a flash, with good numbers and intent. Phillips has time to look up and pick out a good ball to halfway, where Raphinha is waiting to collect: please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image And in this example, Forshaw reads a pass by Wilfred Ndidi, cuts it out, finds Rodrigo and gives Timothy Castagne yet another bout of Raphinha to deal with: please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Leeds have been depending heavily on Raphinha’s class this season but the difference on Sunday was that they were playing to his strengths, rather than relying on them. The Brazilian was typically exceptional but Forshaw’s skill and poise in progressing play between the lines helped Leeds to find their attacking threats in promising positions. Of the starting line-up against Leicester, Forshaw completed at least one pass to every one of his team-mates bar goalkeeper Illan Meslier. And he received at least one pass from every team-mate bar Meslier. He produced moments like this, where a disguised ball sends James scurrying away and then allows Forshaw to pick up a return pass in a dangerous spot… please log in to view this image please log in to view this image …and defensive interventions like this, where Forshaw looks in trouble, surrounded by four Leicester players inside his own box, but manages to clear the ball despite losing his footing: please log in to view this image In Bielsa’s estimation, Sunday’s performance was better than any Leeds produced in their first 10 league games this season and his non-international players have now been given a few days off at the start of this week. Forshaw is one of them and the first priority for him will be to see how his body reacts to his first full league appearance in more than 700 days, but it was obvious that the rest of Bielsa’s players understand him, he understands them and as confidence rebuilds, all of them still understand the system. Forshaw’s family attended the Leicester match in numbers and there were tears from him afterwards, at the end of an appearance Bielsa thought might never come. A month or so ago, Leeds’ chairman, Andrea Radrizzani, put his neck on the line with a tweet implying that Forshaw could be the midfielder the club were missing this season. Neither that tweet or Radrizzani’s subsequent doubling down on it changed the fact that Leeds wanted a new midfielder in the summer transfer market, failed to sign one and have looked compromised without one. But on Sunday, it seemed that clinging to Forshaw could be so much more than a shot in the dark and so much more than wishful thinking.
Its amazing to look back at the club shirts we used to wear around 20 years ago, and how they are now. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Still got all my old shirts including that Puma home shirt. Very rarely get them now although my son has taken up the mantle and gets at least one each season. He tends to like the away shirts and keepers shirts too though, I was mostly home kits.
For me you won't beat the yellow away shirt with blue/white stripes on sleeve with the iconic smiley.... classic
I think the most important line in this whole article, and the thing that will see us rise up the table, was - "Leeds have been depending on Raphinia this season, the difference on Sunday was that they were playing to his strengths, rather than relying on them." This could be Forshaws biggest contribution. In him doing the simple stuff the more skillful players will do what they do better. You watch, the more games Forshaw plays the quicker Harrison will return to his best and James will look like the £25 million player he is.
The only away kit I had back in the day was the light blue with the dark blue bit across the chest (like the Lazio home kit).
I was looking at the retro section on the club shop website. I have most of them in storage anyway. Not that they fit at the moment. I love the one above and was still wearing it for 5 a side a couple of years ago.
Despite the kind words written about Forshaw, not one touches on the fact that his comeback was in the PL, not the Championship! Bad enough trying to get fit after 2 years out, but to know that promotion has just made your recovery exponentially harder must have really messed with his head. I doff my cap to him for overcoming this. Might be offline for a few days, chaps. Off to Moldova in search of 50p pints. Hopefully I won't tumble down the airplane stairs this trip.
