It's not often you can say a club's supporters have contributed to a team's struggles, but I feel Leeds fans have in a way been partly responsible for the bad run the team is on ... it's not as bad as Sunderland's demise last season where their supporters blatantly abandoned the team wholesale with their early walkouts and suchlike, but it exists nonetheless ... I'll explain my thoughts Felix the Cat was on a hiding to nothing when he signed for Leeds United because he was immediately seen as a threat to fans' favourite Rob Green ... the same Rob Green who played a massive role in Leeds' terrible start last season, single handedly costing the team points ... the same Rob Green who at the age of 37 was never going to be part of the club's long term future ... the same Rob Green who, when given the chance to show Tommy what he had to offer, promptly reverted to type and chucked in a howler against mighty Port Vale A lot of fans made their minds up about Felix before they even saw him ... it really became a "how dare he replace Green" thing ... yet Wiedwald contributed to a run of six clean sheets and a string of positive results ... he was capable at playing out from the back and he showed he was a shot stopper ... unfortunately, the players in front of him slacked off and his confidence took a dip as he bore the brunt of the frustration Very public calls were made for Wiedwald to be dropped and Lonergan to be brought in, and look how well that has gone ... myopic Leeds fans actually believe that Lonergan is a better keeper, but I don't see it that way ... in fact, I think he has contributed to the slide Lonergan is not comfortable playing out from the back, so Leeds are whacking more and more long balls up to, or short of the lone striker ... this is not a great option when it happens consistently, and against the three giant Sheff United centre backs it was disastrous ... yet people moaned at Lasogga for not being stronger rather than looking at Lonergan's poor distribution ... long clearances are predictable and makes it easier to defend against Then there's two winning goals against us I want to highlight ... Barrow and Brooks both scored carbon copy goals past Lonergan that could have been prevented had the keeper been a bit better ... in both instances Lonergan came flying off his line, making it easier for the player to slip the ball past him ... Lonergan made the player's mind up for him, giving him little time to think about anything other than sticking it inside the far post ... and? Let's look at the goalscorers, and how a more "continental" goalkeeping approach could have changed the outcomes ... Barrow was a total flop at ER, and he hadn't yet made an impression at Reading ... if ever there was a player under pressure coming off the bench ... Barrow found himself in a good position, and now it was all about his composure ... imagine Kasper in goal, and you can bet that he would stand his ground at his near post and make himself big, showing Barrow very little to aim at and giving him something to think about ... now Barrow's confidence is tested and a wild blast straight at the keeper is probably the outcome Brooks is a very similar situation, and I really thought Lonergan would have learnt from the Reading goal and stood his ground ... Brooks had never scored a league goal and he would have been excited to find himself in that position ... had Lonergan made himself big and given the youngster something to think about then again a goal could have been prevented ... again, the player was given the easy choice of only one option so thought didn't come into it, no doubt was created and a simple finish was applied to sink the Whites It is very easy to simply jump on a player's back and give him grief without thinking things through ... in the case of Wiedwald the fans have been complicit in his loss of confidence, and this has transferred to the rest of the squad ... now Leeds have and ordinary keeper between the sticks and a shattered on on the bench ... yes, Lonergan has made some eye catching saves, but I'm sure Felix would have made those as well Lonergan is not the answer, that's for sure, so he should not be immune from criticism ... however, it is better to fully support ALL the players and show them you are behind them through all the ups and downs ... this will serve as a positive, strong foundation the club can build on Radz is God
Ffs. Thats a very long post. Let me simplify it. Felix is **** and alays will be and Lonergan is at best reserve level. Neither of the above are the fault of leeds supporters.
Yep Felix just isn’t very good i’m afraid. Lonergan is a good shot stopper but doesn’t command his box.. and isn’t comfortable playing out from the back... but then side after side had rumbled us on that one anyway.
I was surprised when Felix was named number 1 keeper. 500k would have been better spent on a second or third choice in the Prem
Pretty much what I've been discussing at matches, Billy, although I didn't analyse the 2 goals you mention. TC came here with a clear plan to play out from the back, with high intensity & pressing in packs. Weidwald was signed for his keeper/sweeper qualities. Sadly, he had a lot to learn about the Championship game, and we must look to our coaching staff to ask why they didn't prepare him correctly. They had enough time, after all. The only reason Lonergan replaced Weidwald was because of 'fan power' in social media & at games, plus incendiary media articles. Rather than persist with Weidwald & develop him as we went along (as with Green), someone, and I don't know who, made the decision to replace him. Immediately that happened, we stopped playing out from the back. Lonergan 100% humps the ball up the park. It's like Paddy Kenny all over again, only Kenny was better at it. So where are we now as a result of this brainwave? We don't play out from the back, and as a direct result, this affects our ability to play with a high intensity, or to 'hunt in packs', as usually Lonergan's efforts are headed straight back into our half and we spend our time trying to win the second ball in midfield, with our forward players watching it all unfold before them, as they stand with hands on hips. So will the re-introduction of Weidwald revert us back? You would hope so, but he is now broken, another Rachubka, his confidence destroyed. So we need 2 keepers now in January, unless there's a miracle, IMO.
So both keepers are not up to standard .midfield is not good enough.we have one recognised center back wh gets dropped or a new partner every game or so.also we have a forward on loan from blackpool beach who is fat slow and cant jump.orta is a man who got boro relegated and we have a coach from a holiday island pub team.this can only be the faults of the fans all thirty thousand of them. The german fifth choice striker is not good enough and d
Hard to believe its the same bloke that was using the same nym to post glowing praise of the team and TC a little over a month ago. But he is right now.
Yep... Got admit that even last year I was going to games or watching a stream or following live updates. If I arnt at the game I am not even checking the result until I have finished whatever else I am doing now. I enjoy the banter on here more than the footie. I just cant see us putting any sort of decent run together.
