You know I just don't buy all this we need to get quality additions and have a thread bare squad doom and gloom, Rads is a pauper nonsense. Sure the right additions would be great but having looked back at last year I have to say the size of our squad or the need to spend spend spend in January isn't borne out by the way the blunts went about it, by way of comparison In their whole season they used 26 players in championship matches we currently have used 23, although some have only played a short time, but then we are only half way through the season. Their spending in January was a net £1.1. million and three loanees, their purchase being Oliver Norwood, who had been around a good few clubs in the previous seasons, quality? I don't know, the right addition, probably. So I'm just not getting that we have a thread bare squad or that we need to spend oodles. Having said that I would like us to get a few additional players so I can sleep easier but I can't see the dire need to do this or the depths of depression if we don't. We currently have a team that is the envy of most in the league and I can't see why I should be doubting it, let those that aren't Leeds do that. We will be at least 2nd at the end of the year, perhaps even top
The answer's in your "we seriously battered them second half," no point in battering teams in second half when they've nicked a 1 or 2 goal lead, it's even worse when we don't score or have a bit of luck to get an equaliser. Battering teams means we should easily beat'em, but we're not, and our goals scored tally is taking a downward spiral thanks to Bielsa continually playing a striker who clearly belongs in a lower league, which is where I think he'll end up after Leeds. I'm beginning to wonder if the players mindset has changed to "we'll wait for them to tire then score the winning goal".......
35,000 applaud Bamford as he leaves the field, then give him a rousing chant of his name to show their anger at his substitution. And yet one clown on here thinks he's 'lower league', and shouldn't be playing. So who do I trust - a widely experienced and exalted manager loved around the world, or a bitter,deluded old man - one who delights in criticising players in the team that he allegedly supports. Wonder how his kids coped with him haranguing them for not getting perfect exam marks?
Everyone around us have done us a favour, we drew with the third place team, the other two in the top four drew with 22nd and 23rd. They’re results were awful, our result was okay. WBA and Fulham should not be dropping points to the bottom teams either but they did. We drop two points to a very good team, the other two drop points to the bottom end of the division yet our own fans say we’re awful and the others did us a favour? It’s a **** of a division, nobody has a right to three points, I think we’re panicking because of seasons past, rivals tell us our wheels are falling off and we start to believe them and the tension drips through. We were diabolical (compared to our usual standard) first half, Bielsa got them in that dressing room and we came out a better side in the second half.
Bielsa has gone on record as saying when plan A isn’t working plan B is to try harder and make plan A work. Second half today was exactly that, they all upped their game second half
Definitely not most, the majority of the first half and none of the second. When Phillips was dropped and White played in his position against 20th placed Huddersfield you said they threw everything at us first half and wouldn’t keep it up, you were all praise for Huddersfield in 20th. When 3rd place Preston do the exact same it’s not acknowledged by yourself, if Alioski had scored when he had a gaping goal but blazed over it might have been different. If his shot that hit the woodwork had been 2” to the right again it would have been different. A team with 30% possession bossed our midfield for the majority of the game? Come on, you’ve been on the Baileys too early
Think he and Bielsa are miles ahead of anyone else in this division, when and if Bielsa goes I want him here at Leeds
Eric, who cares if they’re loans or bought in Jan. It’s just whether they add to the squad or cover squad injuries/losses. Re the blunts Norwood got 3 sides promoted but wasn’t seen as good enough by them to play in the prem... he was considered a steal by most... but actually had been with the blades since August, so wasn’t really an addition! Their 3 loan players all got significant game time. The problem leeds had was... 1 keeper broke a leg, 1 midfielder was withdrawn by parent club, another, star player (when fit), was farmed out because he couldn’t get good paella in Leeds. So we were 3 first team squad players down from August and we only replaced 1... and we were ravaged with injuries. We were d*cked about re dan James on the last day, but we let it get to that because we were cheapskating. Might be nonsense to you but to me it wasn’t good enough. It’s not hindsight I and plenty of others said it at the time. This year we have a winger gone back.. a question mark against a keeper with a potential ban, possibility of a striker going back. Long term/ongoing injury problems to both number 10s and 2 first team squad midfielders which makes us unable to rest klich/Phillips. I’m not saying it’s a crisis.. but if you’re not moving forwards you’re moving backwards. In our position you provide cover to protect your investment. If rads learnt anything last year it should be that.
This league is mental. Luckily we didn't lose ground on WBA and those behind dropped bigger points but where the **** did Brentford come from???
Milky, Mate, agree we have to address the injuries and that it's not a crisis. We don't need to panic and start seeing a lot of ghosts of Christmas past. A few well though through additions that will play and not be "ones for the future" are what we need, if we can get them. The keeper I think is covered but hopefully wont be needed. The stiker leaving would be a loss if he was hugely influential to the team. From what I have seen he is a good player but not 100% suited to our team. So yes I think we need to supplement but I don't think if we fail to do that it will be because the management side at Leeds haven't seen the same issues as we have.
I’m sure they see and understand the issues... it’s whether they think they need to act on it... or whether they place their faith blindly on bielsa’s ability to keep successfully putting round pegs in square holes. We can smell promotion again... would frustrate the fck out of me if we don’t provide cover for the squad shortages we have... 2 seasons in the trot.
... It’s not so much to do with how successful nketiah has or hasn’t been... its how do you cope if bamford gets crocked
Just back from the game and loads to say...just not sure my fingers will type fast enough so may have to save some for later. Firstly, well done Preston as first half their game plan and execution was excellent. To stop us playing out from the back they employed two up high to press Kiko,White and Cooper (nothing unusual with that) but what was different was 3 more in behind and fairly close to their front two, with Pearson then sweeping up behind the 5 that were most advanced. All of these players were in our half and on the front foot. The remaining 4 played as a straight back line and didn't really press at all. What was also interesting was it was a press but deliberately not an aggressive press...they closed us down but allowed us to pass and just waited for the mistake, all in all it was very impressive. What was obvious to me, watching from the stands, was that the space to exploit was to either side of Pearson as he had the whole width of the pitch to cover. Unfortunately we persisted in playing it short with the midfield being drawn too deep and our passing game just broke down time and time again. Second half we were much better. Playing faster and more direct, although we never really totally got to grips with the questions Prestons style were asking us playing out from the back. I'll leave talking about individual perfomances until later (need a beer) but some were disappointing to say the least. So a very difficult day and a snatched draw that somehow felt like a win but one thing stood out for me more than anything. No leadership whatsoever on the pitch, which meant no one was able to problem solve in the first half and we had to suffer until half time. Hernandez usually spots what's happening and has a word here and there...Cooper unfortunately just disappeared up his own arse and is nowhere near captain material.
I suspect if you put it in pure economic balance sheet sense the club is worth what £90 million right now?. In the premiership that would be say double so invest £10 million now to gain £80 million, but the odds are still quite long and then there are the FFP rules to consider. I hope we get 2 to 3 round pegs for round holes though.
There's a legitimate argument for saying b***ocks to FFP (or whatever they are calling it these days). Given our position and how powerless the EFL are to properly punish once you're in the PL, we could (in theory at least) spend 100 million this January to get promoted. Obviously we'd have to suffer the consequences if it didn't happen but we all know this team/squad/management etc doesn't have a third promotion attempt in them.
I agree but now the open sore is exposed. Glory or bust got us here, in my opinion, and I certainly don't want to live through that again. I'm not 100% sure that there wouldn't be a third push if this year turned sour but I think it's less that 50/50, if the worst happens, but let's not think about that. A couple of good loans and perhaps a purchase that all worked from the signature, would do nicely and a couple of the U23 making it into the 1st team would be welcome. I just don't think that it all depends on making a multimillion pound signing.
