we do a fair bit of taking one for the team if it looks like the opposition are beating the press - to be honest saw more of it last year than this year so far
that’s what happens when you have a successful team - everyone assumes the individuals must be really good. Not always the case... John McGovern was a double European cup winning captain, roque junior has a World Cup winners medal I wonder if you took them out of our system, how good our players would look at other clubs. The whole being greater than the sum of the parts etc
Abso..bloody..lutely. Put Dallas in the Liverpool team and he'd look great...yet give him a game for Wycome and they'd wonder why he's so highly rated. There was one point during Heckingbottom's reign when I never wanted to see Dallas in a Leeds shirt again. Playing on the wing he was truly shocking and offered nothing whatsoever other than trying his best. Under Bielsa he's an absolute revelation, as are many others who previously looked inadequate for our needs. Fair play to all of them as they've dedicated themselves and become fitter and leaner to maximise their potential and value to the team. Bielsa has shown them how dedication to their craft can reep rewards but they've had to live the lifestyle and put in the hard yards
Shall we berate Ayling for his flops as well as grealish. Some of lukes are comical and are in slow motion.
Pretty sure I read that Mourinho fancies him. Which is pretty much in line with Mourinho's slow slide down the managerial scale.
Yeah, you're definitely choosing not to see it there. We don't seem to have done it as much this season but certainly in Bielsa's first season we were pretty ruthless. On Friday night when Grealish ran nearly the full length of the pitch both Costa and Klich should have brought him down and took a yellow. Kalvin would have felled him and the game would have stopped. I was screaming "foul him!" at the tv. You can't let teams break on you like that. I even showed my 8 year old the passage of play on Saturday morning and used it to teach him about tactical fouls.
There is an art to tactical fouls. It is a skill. What Luke Shaw did was literally boot somebody off the ball. It was a straight red even by the rule book.
Wonder who the club will send to Zurich for the Champions League draw. What month is it drawn by the way
I'm with you on this one...although I'm looking at the next 4 games and then we'll have a good idea as to how the season might pan out. Leicester (h) Palace (a) Arsenal (h) Everton (a) All four are firmly established PL teams and so far we've only beaten teams who have recently been in the Championship. If offered I'd take 6 points now as that PPG average makes us a Top 10 PL side.
In case anyone is interested. Crystal Palace finished 10th last season with a PPG average of 1.24. Chelsea finished 4th with a PPG average of 1.76 We're currently averaging 1.67 but so far have only beaten recent Championship sides. Maybe it's a good idea to keep these PPG numbers in mind when we don't get the hoped for results