Leeds have got good players, they have simply been held back by the tactics Farke has used this season ... Farke may have stumbled on an effective formation at Citeh, but good on him for sticking to the 3-5-2 against Chelsea ... we all knew that part of the answer was to get the ball forward quickly, and Leeds look a different team when getting the ball up top fast and then pressing the opposition high Let's pop the recruitment pimple once and for all, Leeds spent well in the transfer window, and due to missing out on targets we may well see some more activity in January ... this will be very helpful indeed ... recruitment has not been to blame for losing games, Farke's system has stifled our players and caused constant pressure in our own half ... the direct balls bypass the opposition's press, and like the long throw it's a perfectly good tactic to use Farke rolled the dice against Chelsea with his "new" 3-5-2 formation, and it was obvious that Chelsea were very uncomfortable defending against the direct balls and high press ... the thing about these pretty tippy tappy teams is that they're most effective against teams playing out from the back ... Citeh, Arsenal, Chelski and others have a common thread to their game ... they press high and work hard to turn the ball over in the opposition half ... this allows them to then counter quickly needing just two or three passes to get in behind the defence or straight in the box The direct ball approach Leeds used meant the Chelsea press was bypassed, their midfield was forced back and when they did turn the ball over they had a long way to go to get into attacking areas ... this gave Leeds extra opportunities to win the ball back, and our defence faced less pressure ... it worked a treat last night, Chelsea looked confused and they simply had no idea how to cope ... 3-1 was a perfectly fair result Farke will probably stick with this direct system now, and he should ... it doesn't really matter if teams know what to expect, they still have to deal with balls being fired towards their penalty area with midfield runners getting into attacking spaces to do damage ... it will take a brave coach to leave two wingers up high to be ready to attck the space left by the Leeds wing backs, but this means they will have to win the around their own penalty area first, and then beat the Leeds press quickly to fire long balls down the flanks for their wingers to run into ... it also means they will have to leave a centre forward up to be in the box when their wingers want to put a cross in ... three men not defending Leeds attacking so directly is a risk No centre back likes direct balls being fired at them constantly, even more so these "ball playing" modern defenders whose first job seems to be playing out from the back rather than stopping opponents ... Leeds need to stick with the quick balls forward, it pushes teams back and gives our forwards more opportunities to cause chaos DCL and Nmecha seemed to thrive on being given the opportunity to batter defenders, and Okafor is also a real threat through the middle ... all three worked very hard, and Chelsea struggled because their midfield were in no-man's land a lot, unsure whether they should drop back and help their defenders or hold position to be available to get the ball and build attacks Leeds will win a lot more playing this way, our wing backs were very effective and the defence solid ... the three centre backs were superb, with Bijol outstanding and a real presence ... Rodon and Struijk both looked so much better with Bijol anchoring the centre of defence, allowing them to push up when the space opened up for them to run into Ampadu bossed the midfield, and Stach/Tanaka looked so much better having the freedom to attack the box ... Farke has found a solution, now he needs to polish it and make it flow Only two things looked in need of attention: Sitting Back There was a period in the first half where Leeds sat back for a while, inviting pressure, and although Chelsea at one point had something like 90% possession for 10 minutes, Leeds kept them out ... one noticeable thing Maresca did during this spell was to get Cucurella to get up into attack with license to roam ... the Argentine popped up in the centre forward position a couple of times in an effort to create an extra man up front ... he was able to do this because Leeds were not just sitting deep, but our forwards were at least ten yards inside the Leeds hald, so there was no out ball into the Chelsea half Wing Backs Defending When Chelsea scored, it came from Bogle being skinned and the cross going to the back post for a late running midfielder to attack ... Bogle had been beaten in the same manner a few minutes earlier, but the ball in was defended ... Farke needs to figure out how to protect the wing backs a bit better, because they are mostly ahead of the centre backs, so that space is there to exploit ... this will be targeted for sure, but we can excuse the goal against last night because our players are still getting used to the nuances of the new formation Good on Farke for changing his system completely, the players seemed to really thrive in it and they relished the battle and the opportunity to hurt the opposition ... attack attack attack is the way to go now, no matter who we play against ... remember, this Chelsea team beat Barcelona a week before So are Leeds World Champions now?
Cucurella is actually Spanish not Argentinian..................however he still looks a tosser with all that hair!
Great anal sis. the only counter comment I’d make is there is a depressing correlation between squad market value and league position. It’s not 100% (Liverpool for example should be top 4 on valuation, Wolves should not be bottom) but Burnley and Leeds have the lowest 2 valuations. The facts there’s broadly a correlation tells me the league position is not all due to DF.
Not missing Longstaffe are we? As both Gruev and Tanaka have arrived finally and doing a decent job in the premier league. Last night I was screaming for Tanaka to be subbed as he had 3 brilliant chances and hit row Z, the corner flag and a ball boy. Fuming I was and then the gorgeous little nip smashed a screamer in…… Oh you belter. Tanaka could very well be full of confidence now and replicate his form of last season and do it at a much higher level. Gruev is also playing very well too and he’s one I wanted to sell, now I’m questioning why we spent all that cash on Longstaff
Farke is no tactical genius. He was forced to adopt this new system at halftime at Man City. To his surprise it worked. As it turned out it suits the players perfectly. Lucky bastard.
