Good Morning. It's Monday 23rd January, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Defenses on top at ER Leeds & Brentford fought out a goalless draw, in front of a sellout 36,260 Elland Road crowd yesterday afternoon. Leeds were much the better team, and forced fine fine saves from shot stopper Raya on multiple occasions earning him the 'Man of the Match Award'. Marsch's side looked far more comfortable and adept than normal, probably because the partnership of Koch and Wober inspired confidence in the Leeds ranks, allowing them to concentrate of their own roles. Koch kept goal machine Ivan Toney quiet for the most part, restricting the England hopeful (though I wouldn't have a bet on it) to half chances. Wober too, more than played his part. He was a rock in defence, and will be hard to drop from the starting line up, once Cooper returns from the knee injury he picked up in training last week. Speaking after the game, Marsch showed his delight, with the progress his team are finally beginning to make:- "The group is disappointed because they really felt they played well and wanted to be rewarded with the points, but for me, I have been focusing on performances, tactical clarity, and individual confidence and it's clear we are moving in the right direction. Maybe a few moments where we have an advantage in attack and a combination from getting three points, but very stable defensively on set pieces. Strong from a lot of individuals." "(Centre Backs) Both of them have had a good tactical education in Austria and Germany. Max very clear with his role and has fitted in seamlessly. Very strong performances and a big reason to get the clean sheet." "(Rutter) Could have done it, but I want to integrate him the right way. Willy was close to pulling off a play. Jack really strong. When you have new players you want to set them up to succeed. Decided to wait one more week." (Cooper) Minor, knee muscle injury. Felt it would recover faster than it has. yesterday did not feel right so made the decision not to go with him., This week he should be back in training. "(Greenwood) Set-pieces. We were getting fouls. Dangerous balls." "(Toney) Did a lot of work on Brentford. They play long balls, try set-pieces to get Toney. into the game. Their strategy. Today, we had big control of the match and a little sharper in the final third and it's a win. Have to earn everything right now. Will make us better." "(Wober) Intelligence, communication and ability on the ball. Probably best passing centre-back I have worked with. His intelligence has helped the whole group. Have not conceded with him on the pitch and that says a lot about his clarity and our expectations." "(Today's chemistry keeping Cooper out) Good chemistry between Liam and Robin as well. When I spoke to Liam about Max coming, I said one of the strategies is Liam, as we see, it's been hard for him to train all week then play a game. Need him at ba rhythm where he's in good fitness, with more pauses for better longevity and health along the way." "(Frustrating. Brentford in no rush?) This is the playbook for coming to Elland Road. Saw Frank's press conference and he talked about coming here. There are teams that do this. It's an intelligent way to manage coming up here against tempo." "Our group and I have learned not to get frustrated by that & stay focused on the match. Couple of fouls were too easy when we were on top of them. Generally, intensity and concentration, intelligence, confidence is moving in the right direction and we have to keep pushing." please log in to view this image Should we stick with Koch and Wober The centre back pairing of Koch and Wober saw Leeds best defensive performance this season. Brentford failed to register a single shot on target yesterday, something no other team has managed this campaign. Have Leeds found their defensive partnership going forward? Will it allow our wing-backs more freedom to bomb forward on the overlap, creating more width in the process? Is it now time for Liam Cooper to play more of a bit part for the Whites? When was the last time you saw a better defensive display from Leeds? please log in to view this image When Leeds aren’t winning, all you hear from Jesse Marsch is codswallop and propaganda Former Arsenal and England defender Martin Keown has laid into Jesse Marsch accusing him of stiring propaganda, and talking codswallop when his side aren't winning. The controversial pundit highlighted the fact that Marsch has two wins from 16, and the message from the gaffer is always the same. “I don’t see any game management,”. “I don’t see any control. I think the manager has got good characteristics." “But when you don’t win games, it’s like codswallop, isn’t it?! It’s just baloney. We are just hearing this propaganda. It’s like he is clinging on." “They need to get results. There is a message, all the interview from the players is the same, there is momentum. We are building. We are moving in the right direction. Two wins in 16 games is not moving in the right direction.” please log in to view this image Is Marsch's job safe (for the time being) A week is a long time in football. This time last week, the knives were out for Marsch in abundance, yet fast forward the clock to today, and the 49yo has been granted a stay of execution. Leeds are now just a single point above the drop zone, but it's fair to say that lately, we have witnessed far better performances from the terraces. Leeds must get a win against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, before facing Manchester Utd, both home and away in the space of four days (The game at Old Trafford was postponed when the Queen died). The Whites never seem to do well against the red side of Manchester, not to mention they are the joint third form team in the top flight, though to be fair, Brentford are second. please log in to view this image
We started the game with 3 goal scorers on the pitch in Rodrigo, Harrison & Gnonto and never really loooked like braking down a well organised Brentford defence. In fact after dominating for the first 30 mins of the second half we lost our way a bit at the end as Brentford finished stronger and on another day might have nicked it. Sort it out Jesse because we've too much attacking talent getting splinters on the bench. Good perfomances from Struijk and Koch who I've criticized in recent weeks.
Not a criticism mate but what would you have changed and when would you have changed it? I was going through that thought process myself after 60 minutes. I didn't think we needed to change much as in shape but thought it might be good to freshen things up. Rodrigos influence on the game was rising 2nd half and Gnonto was keeping the entire Brentford right flank pushed back. I was struggling to think what was the best plan because we were dominant at the time. Obviously in hindsight it feels like we should have changed it earlier and put Rutter on etc but certainly at the time I was very much "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
After a slow start Rodrigo was on his game yesterday and techincally was the best player on the pitch, therefore taking him off was the wrong decision. Bamford is still feeling his way back and for me lacks any sharpness so as we were dominant side I'd have looked to attack the wide areas more. Firpo on for Struijk as he much much better going forward for a start. Aaronson again was struggling and and basically was a waste of an attacking player so replace him from the start with Greenwood. Clearly we needed more width on the right side, as apart from Ayling no one was getting out there so maybe fresh legs from Kristensen might have helped. Pure speculation but those changes might have been enough to have won the game. Can't comment on Rutter as have never seen him play. Clearly we had too many players on the bench not match fit though.
I think we can agree the squad is improving but not Marsch. Brentford were happy with point as i was. But is this good enough in the long run.
Marsch just can't help himself anyone remember the tinkerman?. Yet earlier in the season when it was hot he left a burnt out Harrison on the pitch. As i posted yesterday my feed was trash so I'm waiting to watch the game online in full.
I think he brought Sinisterra on to help on the right and I said somewhere else that if he was fully fit he takes that ball from Bamford and gets a shot away. The one positive for me is that we probably lose that game a couple of months ago. Aaronson needs 6 months in the gym like Bamford did. Great engine but just nothing with the ball.
What's worrying is that with the squad we have we're only 3 points above Everton & Southampton as both those teams have really struggled this season and Everton are in complete disarray both on and off the pitch. And yet if Fat Fwank gets the sack and Dyche comes in it wouldn't ake much for them to finish above us would it.
Is Aaronson any better than Tyler Roberts ? Not for me and cost a hell of a lot more. The one player we really needed yesterday was Dan James as he's better than both Brenden and Tyler but we gave him away.
The comments from Keown etc were pretty accurate in fairness, and not just them we had Troy Deeney and Jamie Redknapp criticising Marsch as delusional. The YEP, Phil Hay, Adam Pope are now upping their criticism simply because averaging less than a point per game is relegation form and on the BBC form guide we are bottom 3. We need to capitalise on these performances, and I admit we are doing better on the eye, but goals win matches, points are needed and to date we are not getting them. Koch and Wober looks like a real bonus but Koch cannot play against Forest, plus we need a LB still if Wober is a LCB? The changes I would have made were replacing Harrison and Aaronson with Giorgi Boy and Sinnisterra and done at half time. Rodrigo should never have been pulled. Marsch saying Aaronson had his best game is why delusional and propaganda and bollox gets mentioned a lot when he talks. Cooper isn’t good enough anymore and he’s never fit, was never quick but slower now. Marsch saying Greenwood was brought on for free kicks is another joke because Wober is probably better with free kicks and Greenwood hasn’t produced a goal from countless dead ball kicks but he got an assist from a corner.
Wobers free kick was ****e. Greenwood is a 20 year old striker transitioning in to a midfielder and has 1 goal and 2 assists this season. His corners are about as good as I've seen in the league this season. Thought it was a good move.
i thought aaronson was poor in the first half... i actually though he improved a bit after the break, but don't disagree he's too lightweight and lacking in confidence at the moment. I still see a player in there. But if everyone is fully fit at the moment i'd have luis on the right and jack in the middle of the 3, behind Rod. With Georgie boy as an impact sub somewhere!
The way the media headlines look 'A damaging run' 'Fail to do the most important thing in football: score goals' 'Frustrating afternoon' All these headlines from national sports pages all talk about Marsch and what he sees and what the reality is. They all talk about him using words like weapons and Arsenal of weapons and firing blanks constantly. If Leeds are to survive games against the likes of Brentford need to be won. They talk about his use of subs and incomprehensible subs that make no sense or done at the wrong time. It looks like the national press and pundits are falling out of love with Jesse Marsch
When did we start listening to pundits and national rags. A year ago they were having a go at Bielsa. It's their job to stir **** but we don't have to necessarily believe. Trust what you're seeing. You've all watched enough footie for years to make your own minds up. You don't need bbc pundits or others to tell you what to believe surely. I see progress but then maybe I don't hate Marsch enough or I’m deluded
