Couldn't help posting this, watch out for the Wall gloats though. http://www.planetfootball.com/nostalgia/love-letter-luciano-becchio-leeds-uniteds-unexpected-hero/
Morning everyone WACCOE1919 ⚽️⚽️⚽️ Pontus Jansson's magic He wears a magic hat And when we go to Burnley He'll drop that kiwi twat!!!
And Becchio left Leeds for same reason as all the rest, he even admitted it, MONEY. In my books, that makes him no better or worse than any of the rest Wood, Byram, Cook etc. Like many of the others will come to realise, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and he’s been a flop since and can’t now turn the clock back. An endless list. I don’t blame them really but let’s not hero worship one over another. In army terms they are called mercenaries
I agree with the money comments but I'd like to add a massive BUT... Bates, GFH, Cellino (to a different extent) the club was going nowhere. Those players had no genuine chance of promotion, the grass was greener as they received a better payday and played for other teams that were never going to set the heather alight. Previous owners made us a joke, getting out for a better payday was a no brainer. Under Bates alone how many team Captains did we sell? I believe it's totally different now, there is a different feel about everything Leeds. An owner who has put in place an infrastructure, agree or disagree a backroom setup that he believes is right (at least we have one). A scouting system, young signings for the future, how many £1m+ signings this season? and the purchase back of the ground. Wood could have been something special at Leeds, we're doing things right now but he wanted the quick fix and he might well regret it. If Rads doesn't get it right this season he will next or even the one after, for the first time in a dozen years we're going in the right direction financially, owner wise, team building and performances. Unless it's one of the big PL teams you'd be mad to want out now.
Morning all. The arrival of what looks like a man mountain of a CF with plenty of options for TC in midfield & academy players progressing, this really could be the season we get up automatically, or at least via the playoffs. Buckle up gentlemen, we're in for an exhilarating ride
Wouldn't it be refreshing to see a really honest interview with a player that moves? Along the lines of: Q "Well Chris, how does it feel to finally be a Burnley player" A "oh mate, I couldn't give a **** about Burnley I'm here for the money" Q "yes, but playing for a Premier League Club" A "look we both know Burnley are tin pot compared to Leeds and are only here temporarily but it's a short career and I wanted to cash in while the Sky money is so good" Q "does the £15 million fee seem like a burden" A "not at all mate, to be honest I wish it had been more. Me and my agent got a percentage and we're laughing our tits off right now" Q " you said Burnley are only in the Premier League temporarily if the dreaded relegation did happen would you honour your contract and fight to get the team back up" A "would I bollox mate, I'd be off like a ferret up a drainpipe and would have my agent sniffing around for my next big money move from about February" Q "interesting stuff Chris. Now, finally, what about that Cup game and your mouthwatering clash with Pontus Jansson" A "are you totally stupid, I'll be doing a Charlie and feigning injury, think I might go for a stomach bug so I don't even have to be in the same stadium as him"
All very true, but never forget the real bad boys in all of this, the AGENT. If it was back in the 1400's, those feckers would have been burned at the stake
morning ... the thing about Leeds fans on twitter is that some idiot drops the name of a player they think Leeds should sign, and next thing there's a wave of tweets tagging Radz, the club and the player saying the bank should be broken to get him ... Aden Flint, a proper fcuking donkey, was trending massively on twitter for a couple of weeks as the Leeds twitterati went mental about getting him signed up now some bright spark started the Hugill thing, and a bunch of idiots hopped on the bandwagon saying he battered us at Elland Road ... well, he didn't batter us, he played within his one dimensional limitations, and he will struggle to fit into the Leeds way of playing ... he had a nice little run in Lge One, but still didn't score 20 goals, and I'd say he definitely isn't in the same class as Beckford at his age look at the two strikers we have signed this season, and you get an indication as to what TC is looking for to fit his blueprint ... Ekuban and Grot are both quick, they're both powerful, and they're both very mobile ... yes, it helps in the Championship that they're not tiny tots, but it's their ability to cover ground quickly and stretch defences that holds the key ... this opens up space for the midfield to run into, which is why Phillips scored two from inside the box, Saiz is getting into the box and scoring, Pablo narrowly missed with a header from inside the box Wood was good with his movement, and under TC you could see him making an effort to work across the back four more ... against Bolton his movement caused their back three so many problems they ended up marking each other ... Hugill and Gestede are not the type of striker that will easily fit in at Leeds right now ... Roofe went down the centre against Newport and scored three because his natural instinct is to move away from defenders and find little spaces ... Gestede is happy to stand on a defender's toes and battle him physically, preferrably in the air, his major asset ... Hugill looks similar to Gestede if Leeds do sign either Gestede or Hugill then so be it ... now I know this may sound a bit "duh", but let me make a point here about how TC has set Leeds up ... attack at pace, and be very effective doing this on the counter when the opponents have at least eight in our half (second goal at Sunderland was a perfect example of this) ... you look at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Dortmund - all these teams do not have a battering ram of a striker up front, because they want to play fast and fluid football ... they counter at such pace that it's difficult to cope for 90 minutes, so you start to worry more about keeping them out than beating them watching Leeds this season you can see a similarity in approach, and even though we don't have the quality of Barcelona it's clear the players love the system ... fast movement and crisp passing, players running angles into space and taking opponents where they don't want to go ... it's unpredictable and exciting ... yes, there is a physical battle to be won first, but Leeds are doing that ... both Port Vale and Newport gave it a go, but as the game wore on they found it hard to cope and the cracks appeared ... Sunderland were made to look a lot worse than they actually are because of the movement of the Leeds players Hugill or Gestede for Leeds? I would not want either, and I've made my case ... as always, they could come here and be brilliant, but because they are limited and predictable, I wouldn't expect them to be very effective in TC's Leeds Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Morning Billy. We may get one or two more, or we won't. When you add in those that can't even make it to the bench or people getting banned for sendings off or 5 bookings, I think we have enough now to push on for top 2 at best or top 6 at worst. The atmosphere in the club would appear to be good, and we wouldn't want this to change with players getting grumpy because they can't get into the 18 for the day. All in all, we should take what we've got, keep everyone as fit as possible by resting people as often as possible and keep team set ups fluid: 451, 4231, 442, 433. We can do all of these. Here's to a busy season. In TC I trust. MOT
Can I add a further point that springs to mind. There were a couple of reasons why our last half dozen coaches were so one dimensional in their approach imo. A load of bang average players in the squad didnt help but the pressure of three defeats running resulting in the sack also didnt help. Understandable coaches were trying to make us hard beaten rather than any real positive approach. Ive a feeling TC feels secure working under Rad, or as secure as any coach can. Any signings not working out are not down to him. Maybe all this is creating an environment where the players are encouraged to play to their strengths rather than a strict system dictated by a nervous manager/coach
Time will tell Eire. But a solid win tomorrow will again show where we could be heading. Morning by the way
Doesn't matter about the win Per se, but a solid performance. TC said it himself losses are inevitable, but bad performances, such that of the first half on Tuesday, are a peek into last season and not what any fan wants. Leeds fans will be there win/lose/draw providing the team plays with passion and real desire. There is no doubt about that.
Billy I didn't see the Preston game but a fair few who were there reckon he gave our defence a real hard time. He's mobile and offers more than just a static big lump to good too. He came from non-league and is considered to be getting better all the time. That's what I hear about him. I think his all round holding the ball up, bringing other players in to the game would be better than woods... he just won't bring the same level of goals. I think he'd work in the system as a bit of muscle the ball can stick to, especially in the away games where last year it went to pablo, he fell over, and we were back under the Cosh. Most exciting buy in the world? No. Could he work in this system, I think so. They said they are looking at different styles of strikers for the mix. Grot is inexperienced and unproven (might hit the ground running might not), roofe is a ball player. Hugill might be the muscle... they'd probably like a pacy flyer too. We know they've bid for gestede so we know they want a target man... gestede is great in the air which wood wasn't, Hugill offers more of an alround game but less goals. Out of the 'wood style' replacements bandied about, gestede oliviera hugill, he also looks like the only one available... which with a week to go might be the telling factor.
Gaestede is a player for a 4-4-2 formation only had 1 good season when he knocked balls down for Jordan Rhodes to bang in. So if we are chasing him we will waste a lot of the £15m when we may need that in January. I suppose Tommy is looking at options for different games but Hugill would be better in my opinion but a limited player again but ok for a 4-4-2 are we brave enough, confident enough to go for a 3 up top?
Poor first half performance on Tuesday was down to two reasons; our team getting used to each other, & the opposition giving it everything in their cup final. Once our team had settled down, Newport got what they deserved.
I think Warnock and Bates also wanted him gone. I also think there was more to it as Warnock was happy to accept Morrison as part of the deal, and the cash wasn't that great for a player who was probably worth much more than Wood back then, and he was treated badly at Norwich imo; it's like some were saying about Wood "you don't sell your top goal scorer" do you. Whatever reasons he left Eire, he gave good service to, and was a great player for Leeds United. He's one of those players that won't be forgotten. Some fans can berate past players all they like, some deserve it, many don't, but players come and go, and always will do for whatever reason. Unfortunately, the days of Revie type players are over.......
I suppose its an age think Lover. Auld lads like myself, Shaks etc still tend to think of players like the Revie lads and what it meant to be a professional player back then, loyalty and all that and with rose tinted glasses, think current ones should be like them. Theyre not and it makes it harder for me to respect any player that leaves the club although I understand its the money and agents driving it. Amazes me how clubs expect parents to buy their kids team shirts for near 100 quid with a players name on it when the lifespan of the player at the club is probably two years if hes any good
I've no problem with anyone wanting to leave for more money, this is their job, they are not supporters of the club so don't possess that love of it. What I can't get my head round is some Leeds fans obsession to have ex players back despite the fact it has been pointed out on several occasions none of them has quite cut it at the higher level. Obvious question is do we overhype some of our 'better' players and would we have had to move some of them on anyway if we were promoted?
Great post billy agree with most of that,Hugill or Gestede for Leeds? I would not want either,and nor would radz or TC,its just talk (hopefully) as their making some great sighnings,and their definetly not stupid,i have every confidence in them,when was the last time any of us could say that? about a Leeds owner/management team.
