Good Morning. It's Monday 17th March, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Leeds rescue a point at Loftus Road Leeds United demonstrated resilience and tenacity at the weekend, battling back from a two-goal deficit to secure a 2-2 draw at Queens Park Rangers. While the comeback earned them a point, the result leaves Whites fans with mixed emotions as rivals Sheffield United and Burnley closed the gap at the top of the Championship. Leeds remain top of the Championship but only by goal difference, making the race for promotion even tighter. Leeds faced a nightmare start at Loftus Road, a ground where they've suffered four straight defeats. History seemed to repeat itself as the hosts raced to a 2-0 lead. Koki Saito's spectacular curler, gifted by an unfortunate Aaronson touch, opened the scoring from 20 yards. Captain Steve Cook then compounded Leeds' woes, heading in off the post with half an hour on the clock. Leeds clawed their way back into the game on 40 minutes. A well-worked move involving Aaronson, Piroe, and Solomon culminated in Firpo stabbing the ball home from close range, though Morgan Fox got the final touch. The introduction of Willy Gnonto at half-time proved concise. The Italian winger injected pace and creativity, setting up the equaliser on 51 minutes. His incisive pass found Dan James, whose cut-back eventually fell to Jayden Bogle to slot into an empty net. With 40 minutes still left on the clock, Leeds took their foot off the gas, allowing QPR back into the game. Long throws caused havoc in and around the Leeds defence, with Meslier having to be alert to deny Cook his brace, and a last gasp sliding tackle from Struijk to thwart Dunne. please log in to view this image Tired and predictable There’s an undeniable comfort in a settled starting XI. Teams thrive on consistency, players build chemistry, and fans find comfort in a predictable lineup. However, clinging too rigidly to the same lineup, as Leeds are perhaps finding out, can have its downsides. Injuries inevitably strike, familiarity can breed predictability for opponents, and tiredness will creep in. At this crucial juncture of the season, introducing fringe players like Chambers, Dėbayo, and Schmidt might be considered too risky, bordering on reckless. Their combined league minutes this season total a paltry 46 mins – a statistic that speaks volumes about Farke’s questionable substitution strategy. It's not just the lack of rotation among starters, but the inefficient use of Gnonto (152 minutes) and Ramazani (126 minutes) this year. While the walking wounded continue to trudge on, these valuable assets sit on the bench, gathering dust. It was a brave decision to bring Gnonto on at half time at Loftus Road and it paid dividends, though I cannot remember the last time Criticising past decisions is easy. However, the failure to learn from glaring mistakes is inexcusable. The missed opportunity to strengthen the squad during the transfer window is now bearing bitter fruit. Those teams that did bolster their ranks are reaping the rewards, leaving Leeds vulnerable. While 21 points remain up for grabs, complacency cannot be afforded. Any further slip-ups could see Leeds tumble out of the top two for the first time this year, a scenario that could culminate in a nerve-wracking play-off final against a resurgent Coventry City under Frank Lampard. please log in to view this image
Morning all First time I’ve felt a little concerned this morning Burnley are playing well and conceding few goals, Sheffield are constantly playing poor and winning, the local derby game was a huge win for them The team can’t start allowing last seasons three horse race to enter their heads. We might even need a point or two over the 93 points Saving grace is Burnley and Blades playing each other. From the last 12 points on the table, I didn't have us down as picking up just 5 I had hoped 9 at least
Trying to find positives for the last few weeks, We've not won at Portsmouth for 39 yrs, a real bogey ground, where with the officials doing their job correctly we'd have got something from the game, Millwall was a routine win, where more dodgy officials tried their best to ruin it, QPR was a disaster first half but unlike last season there we didn't crumble and showed character to come back at another ground we rarely come away with anything. On the negative side, Farke seems to have learnt nothing from last season, we have James and Aaronson running on empty but unlike last season we have like for like options on the bench but just keeps playing his favoured 11, it cost us last season and will again if he doesn't adjust his stubbornness.
The toon broke their trophy duck yesterday....if we end up at Wembley again surely we can do the same
I still believe we will do it, I have laid off Farke for a few weeks, although after beating Sunderland and Sheffield it would have been hard to justify knocking him. I can't remember who we played a few weeks back but I remember on another teams forum they posted "look at our bench" virtually every player would walk straight into their team. We can forget the argument are we the best team in the division, we don't need to be now, we just need to be better than: Swansea Luton Boro Preston Oxford Stoke Bristol City Plymouth I challenge anyone to truly believe we are not miles better than any of those teams, there really is no reason we should not go unbeaten now, Farke has the best bag of tools, if he can't use them and we fail it is on him
Only Leeds can stop Leeds going up. Green shoots of this seasons bottle job have been visible for weeks. They are starting to flower now.
We're just a soft touch... but when was the last time we weren't? Bielsa/Marsh/Farke, we'd be well on top and concede to the opponents first shot. QPR was more of the same. Defensive howler for the first, free header for the second. We give up less chances than any other team in the division including Burnley, but somehow we seem to gift wrap ours. Hey we're top of the league still guys... I'm not resigned to the inevitable 'Coventry at wembley' yet
Afternoon all Happy Birthday Shako, My daughter is over in Dublin today with her Irish mates. Run in looks pretty simple, just win every match till we can’t be caught.
Hope she brought loads of cash. Dublin will be some rip off this weekend. Great craic everywhere though. Just back from a mid day trad session myself
Afternoon all. I usually hate the international break but I can use a weekend without the stress Leeds put us through (not that I’ll be watching any of the matches). Was about to start a weeks detox but as a Guinness man, I can hardly not have a pint of it on today of all days
She got accommodation with friends who live there, although drinking will be pricey tho. Her boss in Leeds is Irish, he said he would sack her if she didnt send pics of her drinking the black stuff. Any recommendations of where to, or not, go?
Farke signed and assembled the team as I was politely reminded, if he has signed and assembled a team of bottlers who can’t handle the pressure then it’s on him. Drop the tired or non performers and give those on the bench a run out. Something is desperately wrong if it’s always us that bottle it and the likes of Ipswich, Leicester, Burnley and Sheffield and Southampton don’t
