FFS we are top, I dont care if it's joint or what. I think we lost a first division title back in the day on goal difference. It's almost some supporters on here don't want us to go up.
Ah but don’t forget our lads will have played 20 internationals while every other teams players are sunning themselves on holidays
Of course I want us to go up, I’m just not in the “we’re the best team in the league, we’re gonna walk this division” when we win or “Farke out - he’s ****” when we lose camp. Could all change next week.
When we went to Gran’s in the 60’s I remember she occasionally did them with currants and/or raisin. You still had them with gravy. They were fantastic.
has anyone said we’ll walk the league? I think us and boro are the best sides… doesn’t mean either of us will get promoted. They’ve snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on numerous occasions this season and we’re… well…. Leedsy
I never ever said we'd walk this League. I just think there are no teams we should fear. Home win in a few days time...
Yes. A few have said we “should” be walking the league. If we don’t get promoted then we aren’t the best side in the division. I’d also say I could accept your point when it comes to cup competitions but we’ll have to agree to disagree on what we see as the best side in this league over a 46 match season.
Depends on how you quantify "best". The primary stat that determines "success" is the amount of points a team collects after playing each team home and away. Occasionally it might depend on goal difference if teams are tied on points. However, obtaining those points opens up a more in depth analysis. Clubs spend hundreds of thousands on statistical analysis. To simplify, if a team never shoots at goal then they won't score enough goals to win any games. If a team plays with no defence then they will concede too many goals to win enough games. They are extreme examples but it hopefully makes sense. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Statistical analysis goes much deeper than the two simplistic examples I've given. The owners and Farke, as a coach, have set out a system that has us top of the majority of analytic data fields in the Championship so far this season. That's all they can do. They have given us the very best chance of success. That's why opposing managers are always referring to the "numbers that Leeds put up every week". That's why the multi-billion bookmaking industry (who rely on statistical data) have us odds on to win the title. It's not by accident. However, topping the data charts doesn't guarantee you the league title because the ONLY statistic that matters is the points total at the end of the season. That is a single field of data which has many outside variables attached to it and many of those 'outside' variables are out of our hands. Things like referee decisions, injuries, international games, illness, sprinklers not retracting at Stadium of Light, oppositions unforced errors, global pandemics etc etc. Some might call these things plain bad luck but they all have an impact on the points total. All my ramblings point to the ultimate conclusion that the best team in the division doesn't always obtain more points than anyone else. The best team doesn't always win the league. The reassurance I can give you is that the team that usually dominates the majority of statistical fields more often than not does indeed go on to win the league or at the very least goes very close to doing so. We ARE that team who are dominating the league and every single manager in the league accepts that we are indeed the best team in the division UP TO THIS POINT. The team closest to us regarding statistical analysis is Middlesbrough and that's why @milkyboy suggests they could be our main rivals if the current form continues. Farke has done a good job with us. I get that it sometimes seems a bit dull but it is very economical and it should be good enough to get us out of this division but it doesn't guarantee it.
Well then accepting your point I must be more simplistic than you and milky because but I consider the best to be the team that wins the league (though I can’t evidence it I’m fairly certain all the variables you mention affect every team at some point throughout a season) and happen to think that the next best finish second. You don’t get lucky across 46 games. So far so good
Well, thanks for reading my extra long post. I agree that the variables affect every team. However, they affect some teams positively (like Sunderland thus far) and others negatively (like ourselves and Middlesbrough). The Meslier gift at Sunderland was a 2 pt loss for us and a 1 pt gain for them. Apparently it was a sprinkler issue. I'm sure Sunderland didn't do it on purpose and we certainly had no control over it. However you look at that situation, I think it's a good example of both sides of the coin resulting in a 3 point swing between the sides. 3 points is a big swing when you are trying to get 92 points. You can't afford many negatives like that. We could do with some going our way, a bit like goalkeeper mistakes against Watford. They don't always equal out over the season.
To be honest I don’t believe that sprinkler thing. It must have been visible for the whole of the 2nd half and surely dangerous so the ref would have stopped the game. Just a big balls up by Mes.
I will agree to some extent that after a 46 game season, the best team has the most points and any other stat showing otherwise is kind of superfluous. The issue is whilst points are still a significant factor in deciding how a team is presently performing, it may not always show the true picture. Hypothetically 2 teams after 10 games have won all their games 1-0 and thus both on 30 points with +10 difference goal difference. Team A have played the bottom 10 teams in the league and stats suggest they should have won 7 games. Team B stats suggests they should have won all their games 3-0. Which team do you think will maintain it's momentum or even improve, and which is likely to fall away. Team A may well defy the stats and romp to promotion, but I wouldn't be placing a bet on that team. At presently comparing the league after 16 games the teams that statistically should be performing the best at present are Middlesbrough, Leeds, Millwall and Coventry. Sunderland, Sheffield Utd and Burnley are presently over performing and to be honest this is the stage of the season where you want to over perform, as it's great for confidence and momentum. We are perfunctory, we have 2 points less than stats say we should have, thus we can decide to lay that blame on Mes in the Sunderland game. We've scored the exact number of goals that stats say we should have scored and conceded 2 more goals that stats would say we should, these being one goal in today's game plus the aforementioned second goal at Sunderland. We are not exciting like many considered under the Bielsa era, we are workman like. This of course leaves us open to throwing points away by conceding soft goals or missing easy chances, which is what causes the apprehension in the fan base. Other managers when playing us , see that at present statistically we have the second best attack and the best defence. Statistically after today's game, Swansea have scored 7 goals less than they should have, which may suggest the chances they scored today are ones they should score but in previous matches they have failed to convert. Stats also suggest that even after conceding 4 goals against us today, they have still managed to concede 8 goals less than expected, so either their keeper has been performing miracles or else other teams have been missing easy opportunities. Of course the other issue is that we are not emotionally involved with the other 23 teams as we are with our own. Thus we place a greater expectation what we imagine our team can achieve, whilst downplaying the opposition. Swansea have a good attacking line up, that has not been gaining it rewards, today it fell right for them. Defensively however they have been weak, and yet prior to today's game, they had the fourth best defence. The luck they have had in not conceding goals failed them today or we able to exploit there defensive facilities. I will end this post by saying that stats overall mean absolutely nothing. As much as I love to dissect them at the end of the day it's where you finish in the league after 46 games that counts, but they are a great leveller in helping to control my emotions from an individual game. Stats say today's game should have ended with us winning 3-2. Whilst many may say the second Swansea goal was the one we shouldn't have conceded, I felt their 3rd goal was the worst, with our 2 centre halves allowing the Swansea striker to get between them for a tap in
Thoroughly enjoyable highlights. Anyone thinking they’d Dee anything in pl liar that if were there are deluded
