I've just had a quick look on the Leeds board. They're talking about needing three or four or even five new signings, so they clearly haven't got a massive amount of faith in their current squad and presumably the first XI is currently a little unsettled. Compare that to us, where I think most of us agree that all we need is a top CB.
Wow, I can't help but feel Leeds fans are underestimating us somewhat, please remember Southampton are bookies favourites for this one! Personally think it'll be a tight game, and 2-2 would be my prediction.
Maybe you were just looking at posts by the perennial moaners-every club's got some of those! Most Leeds fans are happy with the way pre-season has gone,unbeaten & with a clearer view of what the starting 11 & formation will be. One or two of the trialists have impressed & would make useful additions to the squad. We have a stronger squad than the one that finished last season in 7th,although the loss of Becchio & Somma through injury is a blow. I just think back to last season,our first game after promotion at home to Derby when we showed them too much respect & made a poor side look like Brazil! It took us 3 or 4 games to get to grips with the step up. I'm just hoping from a Leeds point of view that the occasion will get the better of you on Saturday but its a tough tough match for us too as they always are at your place. There's no way anyone is underestimating you.
... Because we have a stronger squad possibly? I'm not underestimationg you, I just feel you're underestimating us! No reasonable Leeds fan would say we need 4 or 5 signings. Most would say we need a LB to go into the starting 11 and a CM for cover/competition, possibly a loan ST but some, including me, feel we can cover our injuries there from within the squad. We were very confident last year aswell, bookies favourites for the game etc. but in the end we just weren't prepared for Derby, and I feel we are far stronger than that Derby side were and you aren't quite as strong as we were. Simply looking at the facts of an improved team who were unlucky to miss the play-offs against a team who scraped promotion means without the "occasion" we would be easy favourites, and we discovered the occasion doesn't always work in your favour. EDIT: And if you're on our board i suggest you ignore Clivetime, Que Somma Somma, and LIW when he's in a bad mood.
Simon21 .... oh yeah we just scrapped promotion by 5 points! Agree with everything else you wrote except that line!
Well that's your opinion. Can't see much of an improvement to the squad that 'scraped' out of L1 tbh...in that I mean Leeds'. Would have been interesting to compare Snodgrass and Gradel to Lallana and AOC, but the new boy De Ridder looks class. And will Lambert do what the injured Beechio did last season? I see comparisons, close, have a feeling we might sneak it...on this 'occasion,' which probably could have some bearing.
For the most expensive squad ever assembled at that level I would say that counts! Brown & Clayton > Kilkenny and Johnson Lonergan >>> Ankergren (and Scmeichel) In fact our entire back 5 is miles above what we had and Becchio, Snoddy, Gradel and Howson have all improved immeasureably as players aswell as far more strength in depth. I just don't see the same quality in your squad anywhere on the pitch, but that's what you'd expect.
Hi Simon, I venture on to your board occasionally because it's quite busy, some absolutely depressed blokes over there. If we finished 3 points and 1 place from the play-offs in our first season up I would be delighted, surely Leeds will be able to build on that this season.
We came down with almost nothing though! With the exception of Davis, Lallana and Schneiderlin, we've had to buy a whole new team. That costs money. I bet the sides that the likes of Leicester and Norwich - and maybe even yourselves - got promoted with were worth pretty much what we spent. But those sides already had many of their main players within their squads.
We built a completely new team to get us promoted from L1, I think I'm right in saying only Jonny Howson was still there from the team relegated. However, we did it on a relative shoestring; Becchio only cost £30k from the Spanish lower leagues, Snodgrass was £100k, Gradel was £250k, Beckford was approx. £40k from non-league, I can't actually think of a single player who cost more than Gradel who came in. To put it into perspective, in the last 2 seasons we spent more than £5m less than Norwich. Based on that I would say you underachieved.
... but only 4 players (the strongest 4) from that squad remain. I'm not saying we didn't scrape promotion.
I really wouldn't call 92 points underachieving. Huddersfield didn't lose a single game (the play-off final excluded) after coming to St Marys at Xmas and being stuffed 4-1 by us. That's over half the season they went unbeaten - and yet still they finished below us. We couldn't do anything about Brighton, they were just fantastic. Nothing to do with us. Also note that we basically didn't spent a penny last summer. Dickson and Richardson I believe were free transfers, and Guly was a loan signing.
