The whole effort of the last 4 years, during which most of our players gave more than they ever thought possible themselves, is what has taken its toll both physically, mentally and emotionally. Overtrained is perhaps the wrong word to describe this, but together with increasing age, reactions have dulled, recovery slowed and susceptibility to injury increased. Marcelo's loyalty to "his group of players" probably exacerbated this decline.
Exactly bud and why we needed to start refreshing the team pre season. Bring two or three in without ripping the soul out of the squad. More senior players to bring in when needed and help any u23s stepping up. Rads admitted he knew feck all about football.. Well i have news for him he knows less than that. Anyway the leeds fans will keep on going till the end.
I cannot believe what this great adventure has come to, we had such solid foundations to build a top class team from what we already had, just adding two or three top class players to the squad in the summer would have made all the difference, certainly in the positions that were crying out for them, it was not rocket science for christ sake. but in true Leeds style we fecked it up, Orta /kinear/Bielsa made some incredibly poor decisions, that even the fans could see was wrong, even if they couldn't, for what Radz forked out they could have, if so inclined bought some of the best British talent in the championship, but bought some misfiring duds from spain/brazil instead. If we go down and it does look increasingly likely, i for one don't think we will bounce right back up, once again back in the wilderness for X amount of years, with the words Deja Vu ringing in my ears.
I do feel we could bounce straight back up. I certainly hope we can but we got it all wrong last season, apart from Raphinha we spent too much money on average players and when I excuse him, I am basing that on the start of this season as second half he has been as poor as the rest
In more positive news, Richarlison is being investigated for throwing the flare back into the crowd he faces a three match ban if found guilty, pretty clear cut as far as I can see
Blackburn Rovers becomes first UK football club to host Eid prayers Missed a trick there Radz. £15 a go. You could have made a few bob.
Spot on this post. Where Bielsa / Radz / Orta failed was in being too loyal to the players that got us promoted by keeping too many for this season, Sheffield united made the same mistake their second season. The misconception is that Bielsa made average championship players and made them premier league players. In most cases he didn’t, he got average championship players into the premier league by drilling a style of play into them relentlessly and upping their fitness levels so they could carry out his game plan and compensate for their lack of technical ability. As OG says this needs refreshing over time.
Yes woeful. I don't know about you Rich but I watch a lot of football. Not just Leeds. I've seen Chelsea enough this season to know that they are far better than that performance. I watched them completely dominate Real Madrid a couple of weeks ago in the Bernabeu. I've also seen the highlights of the Brentford at home game where they were beaten 1-4. Since Abramovich put them up for sale and the financial restrictions have been imposed they have become very hit and miss. Until then, they were in touch with Man City and Liverpool. As far as Chelsea performances go, that was down there with the worst i have seen them this season. You mention the Pickford saves. One hit him in the face. The other beat him but hit two posts and he made a worldie from behind his goal line. That's it! No miracle. Just one worldie. Chelsea had a 5 minute spell second half and cut Everton apart at will. Other than that they didn't want to know. Loftus Cheek was the only one making an effort. They were poor and everyone seems to agree with that. Despite the poor showing from Chelsea, they still dominated possession and had the chances to draw level (in that 5 minute period) which shows how ****e Everton really are. Somehow, Everton and Burnley are seen to be these unbeatable teams that will win every game until the end of the season. I don't agree with that. They are two sides that aren't any better than we are.
Yep. I agree with that. It's just how this season has gone. Some of it is us being poor too often but I will give one example. We played Southampton at home. Drew 1-1. Southampton are pretty average side and we should have beaten them. The Saints came to ER and had a right go though. They were physical, got stuck in, were very organised defensively and pressed enthusiastically. They turned up. It was a close game but we should have had it sewn up in the first half. Fast forward a couple of weeks. I tune in to Burnley vs Southampton expecting Southampton to go there, compete aerially, get stuck in to them and give Burnley a hard night. They just shied away from every tackle, didn't compete, didn't press. Basically lay down for Burnley and lost 3 points to them. Sometimes you have the season from hell. We have had one yet are still out of the relegation zone. It's probable we go down, it's possible we stay up. I've not known a season like this in all my years watching football,its been ridiculous this season. Verging on unbelievable at times. I'll throw one more in. No team has ever changed manager whilst in the relegation zone with less than 10 games to go and survived. Burnley look like going on a charge for Europe FFS. Its the first time a late change like that has EVER worked and its the season we decide to have from hell. It's beyond a joke.
I don’t think they’ll win every game but they don’t need to. Burnley might get a point against Villa, they might not but we are away to Arsenal and only an optimistic Leeds fan would say we could get something, we won’t. Everton are away to Leicester so I’m hoping no points. Then we play Chelsea so again no points expected but the crunch match is Everton and Watford. I’m expecting us to drop into the relegation zone after that match. Okay we then play Brighton at home and Brentford away, realistically we need to win both. Yes we could do that but equally we could slip up. Everton have Brentford at home. Not directed at you but I just find it amazing how Everton and Burnley are continually dismissed so often by Leeds fans and how excuses are made when we don’t win. If Burnley beat Villa and Everton beat Watford and Brentford we’re in serious trouble. To truly believe this current team can beat Chelsea or Arsenal is laughable, to believe we can go away to Brentford and come away with three points is optimistic Burnley home to Newcastle is a much easier game Anyway, all opinions and I hope and prey I’m wrong and you are right mate
I'm not saying that you're wrong or I am right. I don't think we will stop up now given the injury situation and how the results have gone elsewhere. I just don't get why it's "laughable" to think we can get something against Chelsea. They were **** against Everton. They were **** against Brentford. They could be **** against us too and we have as much chance as Everton to pick up 3 points. To be clear, I don't expect to pick up points against Arsenal or Chelsea. They are better than us. However, it's not a foregone conclusion that these sides turn up on the day. Burnley and Everton are no better (or worse) than us.
That’s where we differ because I believe Everton have better players than us, specially in defence. They’ve done the hard result twice in a matter of weeks beating Chelsea and Man U we haven’t beat any of the top teams all season. We haven’t even got a striker unless we use an U23. Maybe if Bamford, Dallas and Forshaw were available I’d give us a chance. We have far less chance of getting three points against them than Everton as Everton already have
My view is we're actually more or less exactly where I thought we'd be after 34 games. The major concern was always where we'd be after 36 games and then ultimately 38 games. There's no doubt in my mind that we are now reliant on one of Everton and Burnley suddenly losing momentum and suffering back to back defeats or similar. Of the two Burnley look to have the more difficult fixtures but that's only if Aston Villa put maximum effort in. Sadly we know that's not always the case with some teams when safety has been gauranteed. To be fair though they do need a win against Burnley in the first match to almost certainly guarantee that and if they do achieve that win confidence should be high for the rematch at Villa Park 12 days later. The fact Everton have 3 away games left gives some cause for some optimism and although the fixture at Watford screams out as a winnable fixture it could also be a massive blow if they balls it up and lose. Game on still
You know I’m all about bursting bubbles of late… Watford have lost to Burnley, Leeds and even Norwich this year. Watford to beat Everton is like expecting Chelsea and Man U to lose to Everton…….
Ju Just lack of quality in midfield and striker. No seasin from hell just lack of players who are any good.
