Good Morning. It's Friday 27th December, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road. Piroe braces ensures White Christmas Leeds soared to the Championship summit on Boxing Day with a comfortable 2-0 away victory over sorry Stoke. The Staffordshire outfit are without a win since early November, and given their woeful performance last night, it is not surprising. The thick mist obscuring most of the pitch must have come as great comfort to the home fans, who no doubt wished they had stayed at home. The Potters actually started the brighter. Meslier brilliantly denied Lewis Koumas from close range early on, getting down low to deny the Welsh International; but it wasn't long before Leeds took a stranglehold of the game. Not only were the hosts content with allowing Leeds possession, they allowed them acres of space. Bogle in particular was in his element. He was given the freedom of the pitch to attack down the right channel without fear of being challenged. Given Leeds attacking options, and mixture of pace and guile from the wings, it was only a matter of time until the Stoke defence buckled! Joel Piroe struck late in the first half after a delightful through ball from Aaronson, slicing the Stoke defence wide open. Viktor Johansson got down well to thwart the Dutchman's first time effort, but was powerless moments later, smashing the ball into the roof of the net, off the underside of the woodwork. The second half provided much of the same, with Leeds continuing to create guilt edged opportunities, yet it was the hosts that went closest, Ash Phillips heading just wide of Meslier's goalmouth after a peach of a cross from Bocat. Leeds finally put the game to bed with thirty minutes left on the clock. James tee' d up Piroe at the back post to nod past Johansson, claiming his brace, and ninth of the season. The two goal margin provided the knockout goal (on Boxing Day) that was needed to kill off any slim hopes of a Stoke revival. please log in to view this image Sheffield Utd ready to splash the cash Multiple media sources are suggesting that Sheffield Utd are ready to splash the cash next month following their 2-0 home loss to Burnley. Only a point separate the top three, and with only two guaranteed top flight football next season, the Blades are ready to gamble. They spent sensibly in the Summer, and further bolstered the squad with the loan signings of Harry Souttar, Alfie Gilchrist and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi. There is now an eleven point gap between the Whites and Watford in sixth place. After missing out last season, Leeds will be desperate to keep ahead of the chasing pack. Given their fortunes in the play-offs, a third place finish could spell disaster for Farke's side. Similarly, Chris Wilder and Scott Parker will not want to be a part of the play-off lottery either. The lure of a £200m cash injection is at stake, but which clubs are willing to gamble in January to ensure top two finish? please log in to view this image
Dont think the Blades will go heavy nobody does in Jan, especially in the Championship. one slip you in trouble the following season. Always said the loan market is the way to go in the championship keep ya powder clean for the summer window when you can attract better quality knowing you with the Elite. Ok if we had a injury nightmare and were very short in numbers there's no choice but to gamble but I'm very happy with our squad maybe a Number 10 or a out and striker in addition. there will be plenty out there from the Prem wanting a loan as they be wanting game time and they always will go to the teams challenging at the top of the championship.. As on the game we were miles ahead of Stoke like many other teams in this division next up Derby who are just as bad and Im not havin they are a good home side they are miles behind us and we should be taking 3 points if we keep 11 on the pitch.
It would be nice to put a couple of new faces in the squad to keep players on their toes. I don't trust Aaronson yet. He's had a good season so far but his form fell off the edge of a cliff in his first season with us. If that happens again then we could be in trouble. Therefore if we can get a 10 on loan to push him I think it just keeps him on his toes. In a perfect world, we'd off Bamford and get a striker in on loan to add depth to Piroe and Joseph.
Morning all Hold the squad together is my main hope, no transfers out. No other squad has the same quality as us and there are not going to be any players available better than what we have
Its frustrating that he hasn't taken his chances in front of goal, I get that. However, Joseph is joint 3rd in assists despite him only starting 10 games. He's 21 years old. He's no 32 year old who has a long long history of missing sitters like Bamford. Joseph will do as an option off the bench at this level.
I think he will become a very good player, but I’m not convinced he’s ready yet and that’s what we need to go up, a reliable goal scorer. Now who that is (that we could get) is a completely different question.
How long has he played football?. Plenty of younger players doing much better than him. Sorry but ipswich knew what to do signing moore who helped take them up.
I think someone like Moore would be a great addition for us. How many away games have we lost without apparently changing anything only to try break down opposition with same passing around into the box. Would be nice to have a big target man that we could throw in a few high balls late in a game if struggling itherwise
I don't see anyone leaving ie Players who are playing because they are in a catch 22 situation they are possibly on the brink of Premier League football where everyone wants to be. but I do see many leaving in their droves if we don't go up. Out of the 26 outfield players that have been involved there is 9 who you would say are not getting enough minutes. 3 Kids Chambers-Debayo-Crew They be happy just to be in the squad so Won't be gagging to get out. 2 Schmidt-Guilavugai Both know where they stand at the moment both know they won't go to anything bigger than where they are now so a no again. 2 Gruev-Wober Both had long term injuries for their reasoning of not much game time Both won't move while injured Wober is a possibility as he has been unhappy but I can't see us letting him go right now unless the price is right a loan would just be crazy. 2 Bamford-Gelhardt Neither are in the picture right now and could ask for moves but are we bothered? personally I hope they do go. End of the day we got to keep the squad happy bringing in a new player ie a starter knocks one of starting squad back. he has to be really special doesn't he? but do you get that special player in Jan and in the Championship. A perfect window for me is get rid of Bamford and Gelhardt replace them with 1 good Prem Loan striker if possible. Get a Number 10 to share the workload with Aaronson.
FWIW here's my spreadsheet's predicted end of season table... Sunderland 97 Sheff U 95 Burnley 90 Leeds 88 Blackburn 82 Watford 77 WBA 75 Middlesbrough 75 Sheff W 68 Norwich 61 Bristol City 60 Swansea 59 Millwall 59 Derby 56 Preston 52 Coventry 51 Luton 49 QPR 49 Portsmouth 45 Stoke 44 Hull 43 Oxford 42 Cardiff 38 Plymouth 38 Our away form, as we all know, is not good enough. Only 17 points from 11 matches. Just need to convert a few draws into wins and maintain our home form. Simples
Soccerstats website is currently predicting... Sheffield Utd 96 Burnley 93 Sunderland 93 Leeds Utd 89 Blackburn 80 Watford 79 Middlesbrough 75 West Brom 72 Sheffield Wed 66 Bristol City 60 Swansea City 60 Derby County 59 Norwich City 56 Millwall 54 Coventry City 53 Luton Town 52 QP Rangers 50 Preston 49 Oxford Utd 47 Stoke City 45 Portsmouth 44 Hull City 40 Plymouth 38 Cardiff City 36
Strikers - Only Maja from WBA has scored more than Piroe We have scored more goals than anyone else, 11 more than Sheff U and 13 more than Burnley We are top of the table We have looked the better team in virtually every game apart from 1 Why are we discussing our front line not being good enough
What about Callum Wilson at Newcastle ? He's only 32, experienced and a former international He's out of contract in June and not getting a look-in at Newcastle.
He’s not getting a look-in because he’s always injured. We’ll just be swapping Bamford for Wilson on the injury table.
Evening all. Farke said that when we had Amps and Gruev in MF we had the best away record so wasn't surprised we won away with Amps back in MF. We are still wasteful in the final 3rd but I was really impressed how we played through the press. I do think Stoke were **** at it, not hunting in packs, but our defence were all comfortable with players close to them. I do think we are more solid with Amps in MF so he might rotate Ao and Rothwell. It will be interesting to see what happens when Gruev comes back. I thought Joseph was much more direct when he came on which will cause defences nightmares but Piroe has to start. I think Aaronsson puts in so much work that we would need to replace without him. I think Gnonto wasn't disciplined enough when he came on. James was ripping the fb up on the right but Gnonto was drifting everywhere. Maybe that's what he was told.
Anyone watching the Arsenal game? I’m beginning to feel more like Eire. The premier league is ****, every ****ing touch is a foul.
