Good Morning. It's Thursday 19th January, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Whites trounce Bluebirds to progress to 4th round of FA Cup Leeds turned on the style against Managerless Cardiff City last night, hammering five past the Championship outfit and securing a tie against either Accrington Stanley or Boreham Wood. This was the first time since 2013 that the Whites have reached the fourth round; when goals from Ross McCormack and El-Hadji Diouf helped overcome a 1-0 half-time deficit against Birmingham City. That year, Leeds went on to beat Spurs, before finally succumbing to Manchester City in the quarter finals. Leeds were in no mood to allow the visitors time and space to settle, and went ahead after just 30 seconds. Rodrigo chipped the ball into the left hand side of the penalty area, over the head of Sang. Gnonto recognised that the former Manchester Utd youth player had misjudged the flight of the ball, nipped in, and volleyed home from an acute angle. It was all one way traffic, as Leeds laid siege, time and time again on the Bluebirds goalmouth. They doubled their lead, twelve minutes from time when Rodrigo latched on to Harrison's exquisite through ball, cutting the Cardiff defence in half. He had time to assess his options, before rounding the keeper, and firing into an empty net. Two minutes later, Leeds added a third. Harrison (who was enjoying a more central role), picked up the ball in midfield, and ran half way down the pitch before picking out Gnonto. The Italian turned his man, before unleashing a thunder bolt, which beat Alnwick at his near post. To compound Cardiff's misery, they had an effort chalked off for offside, just before the interval. Leeds continued to press in the second half, and it wasn't long before Bamford (who had been introduced as a second half substitute) got in on the act. He may be a little ring rusty, but his finishing was clinical, as the 29yo proved, by netting himself a brace in the 71st and 76th minute. Two goals from Callum Robinson (one from the penalty spot) in the last five minutes took the shine off the result, though didn't come close to affecting the outcome as Leeds ran out 5-2 victors. please log in to view this image Rodrigo involved in altercation with steward Leeds striker Rodrigo was involved in a pitch side altercation with a steward, following his twelve goal of the season last night. As he went to celebrate close to the fans in the Sound Stand, the stewards intervened to ensure the fiery Spaniard's safety. He was then seen to turn, and shove a separate safety marshall, who stumbled backwards, before Greenwood pull him away from the situation. Plenty of reasons to be positive Forgetting the standard of the opposition last night, there are plenty of reasons to be positive going forward. Gnonto is quickly becoming one of the stand-out players in the Premier League, Rodrigo has notched up 12 goals this campaign, Bamford and Sinisterra are back on the mend, Wober looks solid in defence, Harrison is enjoying a more central role and even Firpo is starting to hit a bit of form. Arronson too, seems to have turned a corner, having returned from World Cup duties depleted. We must also remember, we are yet to unleash our record signing Georginio Rutter. If you ever needed validation that the players are 100% behind Marsch, yesterday was the proof. There were absolutely no signs of discontent in the ranks, although I'm sure, may argue that they were doing it for the fans. please log in to view this image
Morning all I saw him push the steward, I wondered what that was all about The goals scored, let’s be honest, it was expected, we’d not have expected less, the goals conceded, that wasn’t acceptable I think the biggest positives yesterday was more about learning who has a future, who tried but failed, who didn’t try and failed. Harrison has done enough in his new position to be considered, Ayling should probably be allowed to move on and allow Drameh to fight it out at RB with Kristensen. Aaronson is not ready and needs dropping, Firpo needs to go and we’re still a couple of defenders short. Greenwood is getting there but he’s another who shouldn’t really be in a starting 11 and Wober, before he went off he looked solid, I liked how he is already shouting at those around him and organising them, pointing where the ball should go, who was free and his positional sense looked good
No idea why the steward grabbed Rodrigo in the first place, unfortunately he shoved the wrong one. Have to disagree that Aaronson has turned a corner though matt, he's getting worse by the game, even last night, he was running into blind alleys, loses the ball, then throws himself to the floor, I don't like cheats but if you're going to be one, at least be good at it.
Morning all I get it's Cardiff but that result is very much needed. I just hope we can push this forward and get a decent result against Brentford on Sunday. Regarding Willy if he continues to play like this we're going to get some rich clubs after him. I think we got the bargain of the summer with this lad.
Morning all We weren’t playing Man City last night, we were playing a struggling 2nd division side. However I saw focus, aggression, commitment, plenty of skill and a great team performance. That same commitment and performance now needs replicating on Sunday and if that happens we will beat Brentford and Marsch will have real measurable progress and keep the media off his back. Hopefully then things will settle down for him and he can start relaxing. Gnonto tok MoM last night but for me it was Rodrigo who was really focused and full of fire, he was also full of skill, tricks and work rate. He created Willies first goal and grabbed himself a great goal. He was replaced at HT by Bamfird who was pretty average until he grabbed his goal. He then came to life and showed a bit more energy like had before, but being out so long it’s acceptable. Chuffed for him and another great goal means 3 in 2 part time games. Great to see Sinisterra on his way back and I’m ignoring the defence simply because everything changed in the 2nd half as we lost Rodrigo’s pressing and Adams drive, things were more sedate and the urgency wasn’t there especially after we went 5-0 up. Loads to be pleased about and YEP players marks showed everyone except Greenwood (6) marked as 7 Bamford and Rodrigo 8 and Willy 9
Morning all. For the first time in 6 years I went to the match last night and made the following observations and conclusions.. As you know I rest on the Ted is out of his depth / sack him side, but . . . Positives First Willy willy willy! 1. We CAN play a good game (albeit against a really ****e Cardiff side) 2. We played with confidence that I've not seen for a long time 3. Amazing finishing by all. Gnontos first was sublime, so was both of Bamfords 4. Unless I was seeing things, we played quite wide yesteday, using the wings to expose their defence (or should I say lack of defence) 5. How the hell did we go 2 nil down in the first match to this team in Cardiff? 6. Bamford looked sharp and didnt feck up his finishing, which can only be a good thing of course, lets hope this continues into the Premiership 7. Great to see Sinisterra back from injury even if it was just a cameo appearance 8. Rodrigo was really good as well did everything required of him. Negatives 1. Our defence is still rubbish and is left exposed through pressing, any prem team would/has punished us for this 2. Concentration - Towards the end they took the foot of the gas. They need to stop doing this as that is where silly goals come from General Points 1. I really hope Bamford stays fit 2. Willy is the bargain of the season 3. Hope the new guy Wober isnt badly injured as he showed the much needed leadership in defence thats has been required for many seasons now Overall it was a great game of footy to watch in person and i really want them to take this confidence into Sundays game to start a run of gaining points. We definitely have the skills in terms of the players as some of the short quick passing last night was sublime, so long it may continue (Fingers crossed).
I think Ayling and Cooper are now suffering from their age. I reckon they'll be out in the next 12 months. Jesse is building a young squad and I can't see how 2 30+ year olds fit into that. Regarding Drameh something isn't clicking between him and the management structure. I reckon if we get a big enough bid he'll be gone. If the Real Betis rumours are true then Firpo will be gone by the end of this window and we'll be bringing in a new LB.
I think the Rodrigo incident with the steward was just instinctive. A non-player grabbed hold of him and he just pushed him off. Rodders was pretty hyped up about scoring that was all. Aaronson does look too light weight and tends to run about like a headless chicken and lose the ball frequently. Greenwood also not really delivering. He made too many underhit passes and seems to back out of challenges a lot. Roca I'm not really convinced and Firpo is not worth the effort. Llorente looks like a rabbit in the headlights all too often and **** knows what Ayling was doing. Letting in two goals did take the shine off slightly if I am being hyper critical. Luckily there were a lot of positives from last night and what a player and what a goal from Willy to start if off after 26 seconds thanks to a superb ball from Rodders. Rodders now looking like the player we thought he was and scoring regularly. Adams is great and Harrison making sublime passes as well as missing sitters. Great to see Bamford back scoring with ease - just hope he can take that forward and grab some more where it really counts.
Looks like Joffy has chosen Wigan for his loan move, probably because he will be the main striker and on every team sheet. He had the choice of Hull, Stoke, Wigan, Sunderland, Swansea, Burnley, Blackburn and rumours of more and even from Spain and Germany.
Not sure what the obsession with 30 is? All of the following are 30+ and would likely improve our team - Van Dijk, Thiago, Salah, Kyle Walker, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Casemeiro, Eriksen, Mendy, Silva, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kante, Lewis Dunk, Pascal Gross, Pontus & Ben Mee. Oh, and all are playing for teams at the north end of the EPL.
I thought that GNOTO was amazing last night and he can only get better.The club have done the right thing in bringing his parents over to stay with himthat shows they care.It wont belong before Chelsea comes with lots of money lets hope we have a new owner who will rebuff them because he will be worth a great deal a star was born yesterdaywho willk save our season and Marsche his job Still hope Wober will be fit soon and good to see Bamford get a couple
I couldn't include Milner on the basis that it makes me feel old - remember being at ER several times when he first broke through at 16! Mind you, if we had signed him when he was 30 we would have been stronger for the last 6 seasons even if players are ready for the knackers yard when they are over 29
Because by the time you hit 30 you start to slip in talent. You can see Cooper is already lacking pace. If you've not noticed they're trying to build a young squad. Personally I'd rather have a young squad than a bunch guys who are close to retirement.
Thanks for that. My granddaughter said the steward had grabbed him but I didn't see it. I think Rodrigo was upset that he couldn't then celebrate with the fans like he wanted to as he looked very upset on my photos, which wasn't a surprise.
Leeds have been listed as 18 richest club in the world https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64314328 Position (last year's position) Club 2021-22 revenue (£m) 2020-21 revenue (£m) 1 (1) Manchester City 619.1 (731m euros) 571.1 (644.9m euros) 2 (2) Real Madrid 604.5 (713.8m euros) 567.3 (640.7m euros) 3 (7) Liverpool 594.3 (701.7m euros) 487.4 (550.4m euros) 4 (5) Manchester United 583.2 (688.6m euros) 494.1 (558m euros) 5 (6) Paris St-Germain 554 (654.2m euros) 492.5 (556.2m euros) 6 (3) Bayern Munich 553.5 (653.6m euros) 541.4 (611.4m euros) 7 (4) Barcelona 540.5 (638.2m euros) 515.4 (582.1m euros) 8 (8) Chelsea 481.3 (568.3m euros) 436.6 (493.1m euros) 9 (10) Tottenham Hotspur 442.8 (523m euros) 359.7 (406.2m euros) 10 (11) Arsenal 367.1 (433.5m euros) 324.5 (366.5m euros) 11 (9) Juventus 339.3 (400.6m euros) 383.5 (433.1m euros) 12 (13) Atletico Madrid 333.6 (393.9m euros) 294.7 (332.8m euros) 13 (12) Borussia Dortmund 302.2 (356.9m euros) 298.9 (337.6m euros) 14 (14) Inter Milan 261.2 (308.4m euros) 293 (330.9m euros) 15 (16) West Ham United 255.1 (301.2m euros) 196.1 (221.5m euros) 16 (19) AC Milan 224.4 (264.9m euros) 191.5 (216.3m euros) 17 (15) Leicester City 213.6 (252.2m euros) 226.2 (255.5m euros) 18 (n/a) Leeds United 189.2 (223.4m euros) 168.6 (190.4m euros) 19 (18) Everton 181 (213.7m euros) 193.1 (218.1m euros) 20 (n/a) Newcastle United 179.8 (212.3m euros) 150.6 (170.1m euros) For non-British clubs Deloitte has used an average exchange rate for the year ending 30 June 2022 (€1 = £0.85; €1 = BRL 5.92; €1 = CHF 1.05; €1 = DKK 7.44; €1 = TRY 13.82).
