I understand this argument, all 3 of these players have been poor for us, no doubt about that. 1 of em is a short term loan though (I don't understand why he keeps making first team but thats a different case), the other was wanted by Reading (on a 1 year contract) but chose to come here instead and Stewart is a player that defences were terrified of a year or 2 back with a lot of promise to improve dramatically (or rather there was) so each one of those signings I could understand at the time. At other clubs they were very very good players and other clubs in this league would've been delighted to have been able to make those signings. We can speculate all we want about why they haven't worked but I don't think that'll get us anywhere. But at the same time, McD really has made McCormack shine, he was always a good player but not anywhere near as influential as he has been under McDermott. Pearce has come on fantastically, he was a player that many were wanting sold in the summer as he was considered one of the "dead wood players" in the squad. Pugh looks like a genuine utility player now whereas before he looked like he was terrible regardless of where he played. He has brought Mowatt into the fold now who looks like he'll be a hell of a player in a few years time and in general the average age of the squad has come down by about 10 years compared to when Warnock was in charge. As for signings, Smith I believe has worked out, he isn't there yet but he is scoring goals and I think you'll find his record of scoring to minutes on the pitch is up there with any goalscorer in the league. Murphy I originally was not a fan of but I now do actually believe he is a player we have been lacking, replacing Austin in that team is really where we need to look at improving it. He has built our defence (I know that seems slightly ironic after conceding 5 goals at home but I do believe it), we now have 4 quality centre backs in the squad all fighting for places with Pearce really being the important part of it, Peltier has been solid defensively and a fine replacement for when Byram isn't there, something I wasn't willing to say last season although Peltier desperately needs to work on the attacking side of his game and we have an equal amount of competition at left back. If we do get rid of McD which is a certain possibility after the results we have had then I don't think we can expect any better than midtable next season, whereas if we keep him I think we can expect top 6 minimum and if he doesn't achieve that then there is the problem with the manager. Everyone said at the start of the season that they would be content with midtable, then the reality of that kicks in and everyone complains about it.
Remember Cellino is also having to pay for the 1 million pound players. Gfh couldn't even do that. Instalments they failed to meet. Has to be a book in all of this, a horror story or whatever
I disagree with just about everything you just posted. The only reason you could justify that statement is blind faith. Pearce has improved and I suspect that is doen to him not bm. Ross might be our best player but he is not as good as many including him seem to think he is. We are no better than 12 months ago.
Josh I truly believe if we keep Brian we will finish next season no better than 12th again. Stewart played the first part of the season for Charlton on loan and Hull fans also told us how poor he was. Murphy is not worth the fee in a million years and the young Southampton winger has vanished. Hunt in and no better than Morrison, Wootton is not worth 1m with fees admitted, Kebe should be sent back now Smith I am warming more to but will never be a regular starter and Zakliukas is another Wootton, Pearce or Lees. Our only decent win against Huddersfield was when Brian wasn't in charge
No its not at all. I'm not even defending McDermott that much really, I'm defending the idea of stability. If we do get another manager which at this stage looks increasingly likely then I do not believe we will get above 10th, and I'm happy to continue to support that manager as long as they are at least making some reasonable decisions and I believe in their second season will get it right. If we stick with McDermott we should expect to get top 6 minimum, managers have to have a season to adapt imo. and only in few cases does it work (gain promotion) with managers in their first season and I think you'll find that in most of those cases they were happy to give that manager time in the job also. ONE SEASON WONDERS DO NOT WORK so dont expect them to!!! I really want us to get away from the short term approach that all the fans of this club seem to be infected with.
And if McDermott doesn't get top 6 next season if he stays in charge then have at him, get rid of him and bring someone else in but give him the chance to do well. Its not like there are better options flooding into elland road at the moment.
McDermott will have had a season and a half at the end of this one and no improvement. Is this what our great club and it's fans has dropped to? Accepting shoddy performances week in and week out and getting thrashed 6-1 away and 5-1 at home and going on 8 game winless streaks and believing we need to keep the manager who has managed to obtain these unwanted records? I was hoping he would be the right man for the job, I always felt we moved just a little too slow in getting shot of Warnock, we should have secured Adkins when he became available, I know he was many of our first choices for the job.
No point having stability with the wrong guy running the show. I thought he was the right guy, I was was emphatically wrong. Josh not a pop, but you would have to go to games to see how bad things are.
I don't take it as a pop. I understand I do not see anywhere near the amount of games as others do. Still woulda seen 15 full games and upwards and all the highlights of every game and I really see we just are not performing. Its not the right time to get a new manager though, apart from Malky Mackay I really couldn't think of anyone I would want in charge of the club that is available and there is no guarantee he will come. I never like judging a manager on one season in charge, McD was fantastic at Reading, he hasn't lost the ability to get a team promoted from this league. We'll end up getting rid of him prematurely, that I have no doubt of
There were suggestions at the time he was a coach who got lucky and got someone else's team of gems handed to him, when he needed to build his own team it went tits up. I didn't believe it, but I do now.
The Cellino bid could fail, with this in mind and where it would place us financially I would leave Redfearn in charge until the end of the season, I would send ALL loan players back and I would recall Morisson (if possible). I would tell every player out of contract at the end of this season not to report back into the club. I would leave Redfearn with players who were contracted to us and tell him the aim is to stay up then to mix it up with putting players in the shop window and giving some of the younger players a chance. It isn't ideal, I wouldn't want Redfearn to remain manager but we need to slash our wage bill and these loan players are not going to get us promoted. Next season if we haven't got Cellino we are not going to have a pot to spit in yet alone piss in. Every bit we can save now might be very beneficial for next season and who knows, give one of the younger players a chance and we might uncover a gem. I would challenge any of the young crop to be worse than Kebe.
I'm amazed Pugh has not been sent out on loan to a league one team. He's good enough for the Championship, but he tends to get out of favour. He'll play 12 games straight, then we won't play him for 12 months
Josh, well balanced thoughts ... EVERY SINGLE PERSON on this board said no promotion this season, but lets try and progress ... well, we have made improvements: Varney, Green, Drury etc bye bye Kenny's days are numbered and he will be backup keeper next season Pearce finally showing his quality McCormack, who struggled since joining us is now the NUMBER ONE striker in the Championship Mowatt has been identified as a talent and brought in probably two seasons quicker than Grayson would have done Out training has been improved, and our Academy has been focused on and allowed to work with the Seniors, great work by McD Smith, although still raw, has scored goals, more than our strikers were last season When backed properly, McD got Butland and Wickham in Enough of the positives, some may start punching their screens!! So what hasn't worked? Hunt - yes, he has failed miserably, but injury in pre-season destroyed him, and with a good summer under his belt he will be an effective squad player next season ... he is also acknowledged as a positive influence in the dressing room Stewart - one thing is clear, this kid has enormous talent, he is just lacking the confidence to crack it ... at Leeds he has a great opportunity to realise his potential and become a star, but it can't have been easy coming into a team that gets thrashed 6-0 at Weds ... he will come good, and a fresh start next season will make all the difference Kebe - a real conundrum this one ... whenever we played Reading this was the player I hated the most, because he would run us ragged and create chances ... after the 6-0 he was given clear guidance, particularly away from home - protect the right back ... against Leicester he did such a great job that their form player and playmaker, Dyer, was substituted ... against Yeovil into that gale he stood firm and helped Byram tremendously, setting the tone that allowed Byram to push forward in the second half ... at QPR he once again played destroyer and shut them down before they could trouble Peltier ... remember as well that we had four away games in a row where Kebe did a great job ... now we need to see him released to attack and hopefully we'll get the best out of him, but he won't be back next season Murphy - this lad is going to be some player, he has the tools ... its been a very difficult first season but he's still standing, he hasn't tried to hide and has fronted up ... watch him go next season with some quality players added Byram - a big miss, but should be back to his best next season With Cellino coming in, we can look forward to decent signings, and I agree that stability is key ... McD understands Leeds United, he knows how to manage a club from top to bottom, and he will do a terrfic job given the support ... Leicester could have sacked Pearson last season, a new manager would probably have changed the squad, and they'd be mid table now, but Pearson stayed, he believed in his players and now they're out of sight at the top ... stability not panic!! McD got our very average squad to punch above their weight, and now people want his head because we're not in the top six ... do me a favour!! As for the Bolton result, well, they are capable of this and we all expected them to be in the playoffs minimum, and this Championship is a funny old league, look at Barnsley and Millwall yesterday. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sorry Billy you must be the only Leeds supporter on the planet who can find anything positive to say about Kebe, he has never even done an average job in a Leeds shirt truly awful player. We finished mid table last season and took a couple of thrashings, we are the same this season, no improvement and more wages than ever going out.
Actually we finished 9th in his first season and were about 60 seconds away from finishing 8th in his second.
Well done Billy. Must have taken an hour to type all that on ipad. I know the feeling. Afraid I don't agree with your assessment of the players. I believe Stewart and Kebe are dire and genuinely worried about Byram at this point. But what the hell, it's the differing opinions that make this forum grreat
Good post, Billy, and very much food for thought. I must confess that like most, I struggle a little with your assessments of Kebe & Stewart. But then again, if I knew as much about assessing players as I sometimes think I do, then I'd be a top scout for a club, not a fan in the stands looking for someone to blame.
But i believe this will keep happening unless we give a manager time to build a squad he is proud of rather than sacking one every year
