Good Morning. It's Friday 3rd September, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Bielsa blocked Lang deal Phil Hay has revealed that Marcelo Bielsa scuppered the Noa Lang deal earlier this Summer due to concerns he had about the Dutchman's defensive responsibilities; much to the dismay of Leeds Director of Football Victor Orta. Speculation was rife throughout the Summer that the 22yo was headed for Elland Road in a 25 m swoop, but as time drew on, and fans became increasingly impatient, the transaction never materialised! According to Hay: "Several of Bielsa’s expensive deals at Elland Road have involved wingers: £25 million on James, £17 million on Raphinha, £15 million on Helder Costa, £11 million on Jack Harrison. In their own way, their jobs are as strictly defined as those of his full-backs, constantly required to dovetail with the team-mate playing behind them on that flank, react rapidly to transitional opportunities, attack space in front of them and track back diligently". "Concerns about defensive capabilities were understood to be behind Bielsa’s decision not to pursue Club Bruges’s Noa Lang last month. James (finally) arrives at Leeds knowing he will be asked to graft at both ends of the field". please log in to view this image Phillips delights fans with impressive performance Kalvin Philips once again proved his critics wrong with Sterling performance, including man of the match from BBC Sport as the three Lions trounced Hungary 4-0 in Budapest! Along with his England player of the year award he received earlier in the week, the 25yo continues to impress at the highest level. Kalvin Phillips vs. Hungary: 85% pass acc. 72 touches 53/62 successful Passes 41 opp. Half touches 32 opp. Half passes 6 Ball recoveries 5 Duels won 4/4 Tackles won 1/1 successful take-on 1 interception 1 clean sheet That should add another 10 m to his price tag! Interestingly, in an article that was printed earlier in the week, the Leeds squad was valued at £225 m, making the Whites the 12th most expensive squad in the Premiership. Perhaps I'm over valuing Philips and Raphinha as their dual worth isn't that far away from the total amount! please log in to view this image
Morning all… If we were stupid enough to sell both Phillips and Raphinha I’d say £80m all day for Phillips, English players fetch premium amounts. Raphinha is a bit more tricky, I’m guessing £40m but I hope we never have to find out. It was a good England performance, their keeper was a strange one, three excellent saves denying Kane a hat-trick but then gifting us three with very poor keeping errors. I’m hoping Bamford gets a chance against Albania Bielsa clearly never wanted Noa Lang, Phil Hay “speculates” the reason why, I speculate he had the wrong on the field attitude, we’re all only guessing. The bottom line is Bielsa didn’t want him, no other teams went in for him either. I’ve nothing personally against Phil Hay and I know he has had health issues so I wish him well with that but I find it strange he is never first with a story. He is Leeds, he lives here, you’d have assumed he’d have connections yet The Fabrizio Romano guy from Italy is always first to the genuine news?
Morning all, So the same fans of the "super six" who were crying about Phillips involvement with England a few months ago are now crying that they can't believe he is still at Leeds and not come to one of them. The arrogance and sense of entitlement is staggering.
I know Southgate gets knocked, I’m not a fan myself but at least he recognises Phillips and Rice can play together and the importance of Phillips in his role. Truth is Phillips probably wouldn’t do well in a Man U or Chelsea team they don’t play a style of football that would suit him
I was mocked in my local before the euros for predicting that the Rice & Philips partnership would be the most important area for England at the euros. Look at last night. England controlled a team who held France & Germany while beating Portugal along the way at the euros. I really think this is down to how we control midfield these days. Also the pair were involved in the first, third & fourth goals last night. The first Rice wins the ball and two passes later it is in the net. The third Philips intercepts a kick from their keeper and first time pings a long pass perfectly, two passes later its in the net. Southgate isn't perfect but he is absolutely bang on with this pairing. There is talk of changes for the Andorra game. You heard it first- Rice will not start that game but Phillips will play every minute and the Poland match as well.
I’m not totally sold on the Phillips/rice partnership. It performs a function but I’m not sure it’s the best use of our resources and I like both players. There I’ve said it. we have a shed load of quality players. I’d like to see Phillips or rice play and compare performances… at the euros I thought kp looked better when we subbed rice and he moved to quarterback. that said we created plenty in a 4-0 away from home win last night, so it doesn’t seem the best time to be making that assessment. By the way phillips would suit Man U perfectly in my view. Breaking up play and pinging balls in transition to their attacking talent. Hope I never get proved right or wrong on that one!
you can sign up to Audible for 99p for 3 months, then cancel ... this gives you a free audiobook each month to keep, as well as lots more to listen to while subscribed ... I downloaded the Bielsa audiobook, next month will get the 100 years of Leeds audiobook ... third month not sure which free audiobook I'll get, but go and do this if you want to listen to the Bielsa audiobook narrated by Ralph Ineson
Thanks Elland for another nice debate Noah Lang was never going to happen, especially once Brugges tripled the price they had just paid for him ... there's also his off-field issues that cropped up ... it's clear Brugges didn't really want him, they simply circumcised their option to buy thinking they could cash in on him ... now they're stuck with him, nobody bothered to bid ... oops! Phillips, right now, has to be a £90m player ... if he was putting up these stats at Real Madrid or Barcelona, you can bet PSG would be offering £90m for him right now ... Raphinha is at least £50m, a genuine talent who will be coveted by clubs next summer if he continues on his current upward trajectory ... if silly money gets offered, Leeds will be obligated to take it ... key is that Bielsa stays for another three years to continue the improvement, and he may just do that ... I think he wants a go in Europe with Leeds before hanging up his clipboard
just time bud .. nice to listen to in the car, or chilled next to the bbq with a cold one ... loft full of books, don't need more
trending on twitter hope we murder them Mouth of the Tyne @ToonMouthTyne · Aug 31 Thinking about organising something EXTREMELY disruptive for the #NUFC Leeds match in a couple of weeks. This is a call to arms to all protest groups, particularly @ToonForChange and @ProtestNufc . This needs to be BIG. Think West Ham 2018. Think Man Utd 2021. #ASHLEYOUT
With our shaky start and Firpo and Klich unable to travel due to Covid and with James having just been signed I think it’s a welcome break for us.
