Good Morning. It's Friday 21st November, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Strachan leaps to Farke defence Leeds United legend Gordon Strachan has never been one to mince his words, and his latest verdict on the current squad is as blunt as it gets. Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Strachan defended Daniel Farke from any suggestions of undue pressure, making it clear that the players might not be capable of delivering much better results than we’ve seen so far this season. In his view, Farke is getting about as much as he can out of the squad, and the question fans should be asking is whether this group of players is genuinely good enough to compete at a higher level. Strachan posed a telling example: if Leeds were to put their players on the market tomorrow, how many would spark genuine interest from other clubs? Outside of a handful of individual performances, the answer, he implied, would be “not many.” That observation hits home when you look back at the summer transfer window, where there was little to no serious pursuit of Leeds players. The reality is that the squad’s overall quality has been shaped by a mixed record in recruitment over recent seasons. Some acquisitions have slotted in well, but others simply haven’t been up to the mark. As Strachan pointed out, the strength of any squad is ultimately measured by how many truly outstanding players it contains, and right now Leeds are relying on a few bright spots surrounded by a lot of average contributors. His comments serve as a reminder that while managers shoulder much of the blame when results falter, football is ultimately a players’ game. If Leeds are able to survive the drop, the recruitment strategy must evolve, prioritising proven performers over hopeful gambles. Fans will be hoping the 49ers ownership takes Strachan’s words to heart, using them as a wake-up call for the January transfer windows. The message is loud and clear: to build a squad capable of challenging in the top flight, you need more than just a handful of stars—you need depth, quality, and players other clubs would fight to sign. There's only so much that can be achieved without higher-calibre talent on the pitch, BUT the biggest question still remains, is Daniel Farke getting the best out of his limited resources? please log in to view this image Sterling likely to choose Palace over Leeds Leeds United could face a real challenge in January as they weigh up an ambitious move for Raheem Sterling, currently frozen out at Chelsea under Enzo Maresca. The 30-year-old winger, on a hefty £300,000-a-week contract, hasn’t played a competitive game this season after returning from a loan spell at Arsenal in the summer. Once a standout performer for Liverpool and Manchester City, Sterling now finds himself sidelined and searching for a fresh start. Leeds, in desperate need of goals and creativity to help steer them clear of relegation danger, would see Sterling’s pace, intelligence, and ability to unlock stubborn defences as a potential game-changer. However, the financial package required could prove a major stumbling block. Crystal Palace, despite splashing out £26 million on Yeremy Pino, are also in the hunt for attacking reinforcements, and talks with Sterling’s agent are already underway. Given that Sterling is settled in London, a move to Selhurst Park may ultimately be the more straightforward option. Still, the 49ers may be tempted to push for the signing if there’s any hint of a deal being possible, even on loan. The Yorkshire side’s youthful squad could benefit enormously from Sterling’s leadership and winning mentality, attributes that former player Paul Merson was keen to highlight last summer. Merson argued that Leeds would be the perfect environment for the England international to regain form: “He needs to go and play football, week in, week out to get some rhythm... He’d be very good in the dressing room, a good team player.” please log in to view this image
Morning all. Finally a voice of reason in Gordon strachan and given his football experience I’d Rate His opinion above most others. It’s been obvious squads not near good Enough as well find out when we have to start off loading them
Oh come on there's no way we could get Sterling. There's no way he's going to travel 200 miles.north for a relegation scrap if he can stay in London for a cushy season.
It’s the fans fault for being too emotional it’s the players fault for not been good enough. it’s never the fault of DF even though he he chose the players to sign and he chooses the tactics to employ.
According to you lot it's always DF fault. It's been written hundreds of times even last season. Rose tinted glasses abound. When he's gone, who will be the next scapegoat. Certainly not the players or the crowd that signed them. But what the hell, we've been here before and we certainly will again. Be interesting how much we'll get for them in next fire sale. Perfect examples, according to fans Meslier worth 10m, reality we can't give him away. Same with Harrison and AAronsson. Only reason we have them is nobody else wants them. The players we signed werent wanted by anyone else and when we did have to compete for signatures with Sunderland for example, we lost out on them all. But of course that's all Farkes fault too
Oh for a Strachan now...one of our best buys goals,grit, leadership,oh and had a footballing brain too boot... we've recruited poorly overall so that must be farkes fault and nothing at all with the recruitment team/49ers not being savvy enough eh! of course farke must shoulder some of the angst but I'm afraid he's certainly not alone in it
Whilst I agree on the tactics point, I’m not sure I do that DF chooses the players. The days of the manager/head coach scouting new signings etc. is long gone. The recruitment team will do all that and Farke will have the final say on whether he wants the player (though if other rumours are to be believed that he didn’t want Schmidt or Ramazzani then even that might not be the case). However, if the choice is this player or no one then that limits his ability to say no.
Agree, it appeared Sunderland outbid us for several of our targets. DF doesn’t make the decisions on how much we’re willing to spend on a player.
I can only go by what he himself says. He has stated that he has the say on who comes and who goes. He said he refused to let Mes go for £14m last Jan and then again in the summer £10m. Refused to let Piroe go or Gruev but now may need to. On the players in he keeps saying he chooses or agrees every signing. BBC YEP Athletic Leeds Live. Why so many kick off about not using players he brings in like Spence, Robert’s, Anthony, Schmidt, Bornauw,
But he was given a budget that restricted who he could sign. Do you seriously think he wanted players of this standard and no real striker.
Yes and the xmas market being rubbish. Then there is the price of pies and beer in the stadium. All Farkes fault
I heard Farke put the price of pies up when they refused his plans to sell bratwurst. They also turned down his lederhosen dress code suggestion for hospitality. Word around the club is he’s deliberately running the team into the ground as an act of vengeance.
STRACHAN Gordon is speaking pretty much like all failed managers, it's always that they were never supported financially to buy top players ... any fool can buy a squad of great players and look good ... a proper manager makes his players better, as a certain Senor Bielsa Leeds have a good squad capable of a mid-table finish in the Prem ... the team played well against Everton, Newcastle, Fulham, Spurs, B'mouth, WHam, Wolves ... in those games they fought hard, kept running and looked good At Brighton and Forest the team looked beaten, weary and lacking desire ... my guess is that they've tired of Farke ball and playing to protect a point from kickoff every game ... the players know when a system is holding them back, when the slow build up play hinders their creativity, when drawing the opposition onto you creates unnecessary pressure leading to errors ... the sense is that the players aren't responding to Farke anymore The way Leeds are performing right now is not because our players are rubbish, it's because the system is too negative ... build up play is laborious, allowing opponents to get into a solid defensive shape and make it difficult to score against them ... the teams that have success tend to play quickly from back to front, catching teams out of position and creating space to attack in Leeds simply need a manager with a better approach, and the ability to see things early and then tweak and change to adapt ... Farke is not the guy ... it's easy and lazy to blame recruitment because we have good players, they're just not being used properly ... just look at Piroe, a proven goalscorer who doesn't get a game because "he doesn't suit the system" ... then change the fkn system to make use of your players' strengths Farke's pig headed approach is killing this team, and I guarantee you that when the new manager comes in you will see the negative weight lifted from these players' shoulders and they will fly ... time for change!!! SUNDERLAND The fkn Mackems figured it out quickly ... yes, they massively overspent on players, sometimes paying double the value on transfers to freeze out other bidders ... but they did get one thing right, and that is to play without fear The fkrs aren't afraid of losing 5-0, because they're expected to lose 5-0 every week ... so now they go out onto the pitch with no pressure and attack everyone they play ... Arsenal were the latest to suffer the kamikaze approach at Roker Park, bewildered as to why they drew 2-2 against a team that was supposed to lay down and take a kicking from them Farke only has to look at how S'land are attacking opponents to see that it works if you go out with a win at all costs attitude
bookmarked that guarantee Billy You've picked 7 games where you think the team played well, when we've only played 11 games, so why would the team tire of Farke ball in the last two games if they felt they had been playing well in 7 of the previous 9? If someone told me that we'd play well in 7 of our 11 games against premier league opposition at the start of the season i'd have bitten their hands off. There is an alternative theory that Farke ball is what enabled an average set of players to play well in those games. Truth is I don't profess to know, but I don't think we have a midtable squad player for player. I guess when the naysayers get their way, we'll find out. I think it would be a reasonable suggestion to say, we run harder than everyone else, can that intensity realistically be maintained week in week out? Will confidence drain if results don't match performances? And table pressure really kicks in? That's what concerns me. Have you watched all Sunderland's games Billy? I've not seen this all out attack when i've watched them. They have had less shots than us, their expected goals is lower than ours. And at the other end of the pitch statistically they would have conceded around the same amount of goals as us... had their keeper not been in top form and the opposition attackers chosen other games to have shockers in. They've played well of late and i like their spirit, but they've also seriously ridden their luck to date.
